You're Not Alone
by lolaprior
Summary: A/U Her family is dead. Tris is hiding, the guilt eating her away. Every night, she lays in her parents' bed, wondering what her life will become of her and what she can scavenge to eat the next day. But that all changes when her grandfather Max, the leader of one of Chicago's deadly gangs, Dauntless, finds Tris and brings her back to the Compound, assigning Four as her bodyguard.
1. Chapter 1

**A/U Her family is dead, gone forever. Tris is hiding, the guilt eating her away. Every night, she lays in her parents' bed and breathes in their scent, wondering what her life will become of her and what she can scavenge for breakfast the next day. But that all changes when her grandfather, the leader of one of Chicago's deadly gangs called Dauntless finds Tris and brings her back to the Compound. There, she is faced with the challenges of settling in and becoming like the rest of Dauntless, all of which, is made harder by her new bodyguard Four. **

**Tris POV:**

It's been one month.

One month since the funeral, thirty-seven days since my family died.

In a car accident.

They tell me I'll get better, they say I'll be alright, I just need some time.

But what does time do when guilt is eating away your heart?

I've lived in this little shack of a house my family called home for about a lonely month now. Susan and Robert offered me the option of living with them and their parents, but there are too many memories here. My parents, supposedly of two very wealthy families, were very selfless. Caleb was just like them. I however, was not, always questioning their ways and even once daring to ask why we lived in such a small house if they had enough money for a bigger one. But the answer was always the same: if you work for the poor you must live with the poor and be the poor.

I take in a shaky breath and wipe tears from my face. I should be thinking about what I can scavenge for dinner, not what I miss about my family.

A voice awakes my thoughts of hope and despair.

"I knew there was someone living here, I knew it, I knew it."

I don't move. He wants me to lift my head up and notice him, but if I pretend I don't, maybe he'll go away.

"Come on out, Beatrice. Enough is enough," he says. '"Pedrad, find her and bring her back to me."

"Yes sir."

I cover my mouth to hide the loud breathing I'm making.

"Beatrice Prior!" the man shouts. "Come out!"

A minute passes before he talks again. He's gentler, this time. "Beatrice," he whispers lightly. "I'm come to take you back to where you belong."

I slowly lift my hand off my mouth. Without speaking, I shout back to the man. "Where do I belong," I yell. "when my family's gone?"

The man must be grinning by now. Cautious of my surroundings, I stand up, my knees cracking with the movement. I haven't moved for days, locked up on my parents' bed that I hold onto like a lifesaver ring.

When I don't say anything, the man shouts back to me. "I'm not here to punish you," he says. Then he yells, "Pedrad! Where the hell are you?"

A younger man pops up behind me. "Ah ha!" he shouts. "Sir," he calls. "I've found the princess!"

"Excellent," the man in charge says, walking towards us. Then he grins at me. "My, my, Beatrice. It's so good to see you."

Pedrad locks his hand on my arm, steadying me in place. He must be expecting me to run away.

The other man runs his hand along my parents' wardrobe. "How long have you lived here?" he asks.

I shrug. "My whole life."

"Since your parents died."

"My brother's dead too," I spit. "If you have the decency to care about my parents, at least give Caleb some respect."

The man nods. "Forgive me. So I assume you've been living here for the past month?"

"Yes," I say quietly.

"I'm so sorry. Natalie was a very nice young woman. Andrew and Caleb too."

"How do you know about them?" I counter back. "And if you're so damn sorry, why weren't you at their funeral?"

The man takes no offense to what I've said. He just slicks his greying hair back and stares at me. "Why, don't you remember seeing a man in a charcoal grey suit at the burial?"

"Briefly," I say. "I suppose that was you."

The man nods curtly. "Allow me to introduce myself. Maxwell Dunn, your grandfather."

"Call me Tris," I say, sticking my hand out to shake his.

He shakes it firmly. "Alright, Tris. Call me Max. Everyone here does."

"Here?"

Max smiles. "I'll show you where."

* * *

><p>"Wow," I breath.<p>

"You'll have to jump off the train," he says.

I stand up. "Show me how."

"Pedrad!" Max calls over the wind. "Jump off!"

Pedrad jumps off the train, landing firmly on his feet.

"Your turn," Max states.

I don't know what to do. I run off the train, rolling and tumbling against the gravel until I finally stop just below a cliff-like ledge. A gasp escapes my lips.

Pedrad sticks out his hand to help me up by I shake my head, refusing the help, and pull myself up all on my own.

Max sticks his hands on his hips. "You'll need the practice," he simply says.

"Now what?" I say.

"We jump."

"No," I say. "Seriously, what do we do now?"

Max stares at me. "We jump."

"What's below the ledge?"

Max shrugs.

Pedrad leans towards my ear, his breath tickling the tiny hairs on my neck. "It's not that hard," he whispers. "There's a net below."

I sigh. "I suppose I have to do it first?"

Pedrad shakes his head, smiling. "She's a natural, sir."

I roll my eyes and walk with my eyes forward, not looking down, until I reach the edge of the ledge

and jump.

I land on a bouncy net. When I look up, I see a sky of clouds and blue sky, my mother's favorite weather.

Eventually, a hand reaches out to me. Once more, I ignore it.

But I'm staring into a pair of deep-set blue eyes. "Hey," the person, around my age, says, his voice low and rumbling.

"Hi," I squeak, lifting myself out of the Net.

The guy turns to me. "Call me Four."

I stick out my hand. "Tris," I say cautiously.

Four takes my hand.

"Four's not really your real name, is it?" I ask.

He shakes his head, not answering further. Then he looks up to the ledge where Max and Pedrad are. "All clear!" he shouts.

A minute later, Pedrad jumps down. Then Max.

"Welcome sir," Four tells Max. "We've prepared everything."

"And for the princess?" Max asks.

"Her room is ready."

"And her bodyguard?"

"Prepared to defend," Four says.

"Four, I must ask just once more. Would you ever consider becoming a leader?"

Four shakes his head. "It's not my calling sir."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Max says. Then he turns to me. "Come along Beatrice."

He pushes open a set of double doors. The...pit is a mess of people yelling and running. Max grins. "Welcome home to Dauntless."

* * *

><p>Max grabs a beer. "Go find Four!" he shouts over the yelling. "He'll introduce you to some people!"<p>

I reluctantly walk away from Max, wishing I'd just stayed home and done what I found myself doing every night: looking at pictures of my family and crying over them. I expected to wake up soon and find it all a dream. Too often, I'd found, my family being dead was more than just a dream.

I ignore Max's order to find Four and find myself walking towards a railing. I follow a path of steps down towards a rock that sits just below a gush of running water. A chasm.

This is where my mother grew up, this place of insane craziness. I wipe a tear from my eye and stare into the chasm.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a voice behind me asks.

I don't look behind me. I know it's Four.

He sits down next to me.

"You know," Four says. "If your grandfather caught you here, he'd kill me."

I shrug. "I prefer to call him Max."

"Don't like calling him grandpa?"

"Don't like talking about my past."

"Ah," Four says. Then he stares into the chasm. "I often find myself hiding away from the madness down here."

"What's it called?"

"The Chasm."

I smile. I was close. Four looks at me. "You okay?"

"Do I look okay? My family is dead and-and Max just comes trotting in and snatches me away and brings me here! What is this place anyways?"

Four grins. "Dauntless, one of the biggest gangs in Chicago history."

I shake my head and stand up. "I'm going back."

"Where? This is your home now."

I shrug. "I'll find a place."

"You know no one. According to your file, you rarely associated yourself with people around your age group."

I shrug again. "I'll find some people."

Four laughs to himself. "No you won't. Come on, I'll introduce you to some people." He stands up and walks towards the steps.

"Wait," I say. "What do you mean if Max found me here he'd kill you?"

Four turns around. "Why, don't you know? I'm your bodyguard."


	2. Chapter 2

**Tris POV:**

"And over there is Eric."

"What does Max see in him?" I say with a laugh.

Four shrugs. "He's Max's second choice for leader."

"Who was his first choice?" Then I look at Four. "You?"

Four nods. "Come on, I'll show you the current initiates." He starts to walk, but I keep staring into space.

Eventually, I jog up to Four. "Current initiates?"

"Each year Dauntless recruits ten more members."

"How old are they?"

"Sixteen. Your age."

"How do you..." I start. But I don't finish. He probably just looked at my file to see how old I am.

Four leads me over to a group of teens. Pedrad is one of them.

"Oooh!" a brown-haired girl squeals. "Four, is this the princess?"

Four sighs. "Yes, Marlene. This is Tris."

A girl with dark skin runs up to me. She puts her hand out immediately. "I'm Christina," she says. "I like your name. But we've got to fix your shirt. Grey, really? This is Dauntless for goodness sakes!"

Four chuckles. "If you need me I'll be by the railing with Zeke and Shauna."

"Who?"

Four points to the railing where a girl with brown hair stands kissing Pedrad. Before I can say anything, Four walks towards them.

Christina turns to me. "I have a feeling we'll be great friends Tris."

I grin, but before I can say anything, a cocky boy walks over. "Hey princess," he says.

"Peter, go away," Christina says.

Peter looks at her. "I'm not _that_ bad, am I?"

"Oh, you are," Christina says. "What do you want now?"

Peter ignores her comment and gives her the finger and looks at me. "See you around."

"In your dreams," I retort.

* * *

><p>That night, Four brings me to my room.<p>

"This is it," he says.

"Really?" I ask. "This whole apartment?"

Four shrugs. "Yeah, why?"

"It's just so big for one person," I say. "I grew up living in a tiny house that is smaller than this." I sniffle back tears.

"Hey," Four says, his voice gentler than anything I've ever heard him speak before. "It'll be alright."

"They shouldn't be dead."

"But they are and life moves on," Four says. He leans in to hug me but I push him aside. "How would you know? It's not like your parents are dead."

Four bites his lip and looks down sadly.

"I-I didn't mean it that way," I say. "It's just...how do I know any of this is real? Maybe Max just is a child-snatcher."

Four glares at me and stabs my chest with his finger. "You watch your language princess. Just because your parents are dead and you're Max's granddaughter doesn't mean you can go off running your mouth."

I stare back at him, but my eyes travel to the wardrobe at the end of the room. I walk past Four and pull the doors open. I gasp when I see what's inside them.

"Ah, yes," Four says, walking up to me. "Max ordered that your mother's person items that she had before she ran away be given to you."

I look back to the clothes. They're all black and revealing. Who was my mother? When I can't bear to look at them without crying, I glance to a photo where everyone is smiling. Max's arm is around my mother's shoulder. My mother is holding a baby girl. Is she me?

When I look at Four, his eyes stare at me intensely, but his face gives me pity.

I can't stand pity.

I rush into the bathroom, locking the door and throwing myself onto the marble floor crying

"Tris?" Four asks.

"Go away," I mumble.

"No," he says.

"Why? Is it your duty to care about me?"

He doesn't answer.

After a few minutes of silence, I decide the coast is clear. I hoist myself up off the floor and open the door.

Four is sitting down in the wicker chair beside my bed. "I'd knew you'd come around sometime."

I don't say anything. Four taps his fingers against the arm of the chair. "I knew your mom when she was that young," he says, breaking the ice.

I perk up. "Really?"

Four nods. "She was twenty-two when she had you, twenty-one when she had your brother. When you were around six, Max found your family but your father despised it all and mother said that she was never meant for Dauntless and insisted that all four of you must leave. That was around the time when I joined Dauntless."

"How old were you?"

"Eight," Four responds.

"Really?"

"My mother ran away and the neighbors were starting to worry about what went on in our house. My father did not want to be reported, so he made some arrangements and one day, Max's people picked me up."

"You seem so familiar with the place," I say. "But what about your father? Didn't he worry about you?"

Four shrugs. "I doubt it. He never really liked me. Besides, I've grown up in Dauntless. There's not much not to like about it."

"What's the catch?" I ask. "There's got to be some flaw to the place."

Four smiles wispily. "Dauntless goes incognito: we do errands for the police and dirty work for the city."

* * *

><p>"You!" I shout. "You lied to me!"<p>

He should look startled, but he doesn't. He should be mad, but he isn't.

Max looks up from his desk, a smile spreading on his face. "Tris!" he exclaims, throwing his arms up and spreading papers all over his desk. "How nice to see you!"

"Don't give me that look," I threaten. "I know what your people are up to. I know-"

"That I am trying to avenge your family's death?"

"What are you talking about?" I ask. "It was a total accident. I was taking a walk. They were going to sponsor a food drive."

"And it was all a set-up."

"What do you mean?" I say.

Max looks at me and motions for one of his guards to shut the door. "Beatrice," he whispers firmly, "It was a set-up. Your parents and Caleb knew a secret they shouldn't have. It was going to bring down mob history."

"And me?"

"Well, you could save it." Max says with a smile. "Your genes are near-perfect. You were the key to our success. And Jeanine Matthews knew it. She killed your family, and would have captured you. Luckily, you stayed hidden and I found you just in the nick of time."

"For goodness sakes," I say. "Do you ever make _any_ sense?"

Max ignores me. He runs a hand through his balding head then smiles at me. "I need your help."

"What? No. Never in a million years." I sigh, then open my mouth to speak again. "And you don't need to threaten me. My family's dead, I don't even know if I can trust you, and my life is so crappy I don't care if you threaten to kill me."

"What if I guaranteed your safety?"

I smile knowingly. "I think my safety is already guaranteed, because I am most likely your only family left." I lean in and whisper in Max's ear, "Not only that, but if I ever get on your nerves, I don't think you ever would want to think about hurting a very powerful bargaining tool."

Max nodded at me. "Very well. Your point has been proven. In one week, I expect your decision."

"And if I don't decide? I personally preferred living life in my family's old house."

"You would have been found by Jeanine Matthews."

I shrug. "I told you, my life is hell and I really don't care if someone decides to end it for me."

"Jeanine's methods of torture to know what's going on inside your brain would be much, much worse than death."

"My soul probably deserves it. You know the last thing I told Caleb? He donated my music player without me knowing and the last thing I said to him was that I hoped he died. Guess I got what I deserved." I wipe tears from my face.

Max looks pitifully at me.

I hate pity.

He pats my back, but I shove him aside. "What else do you know? Huh? Can you bring our family back?" As the words escape my mouth, I don't think he heard me say 'our family.'

I hope not.

"And one more thing," I say. "If you really were at my family's funeral, where are my mother's ashes? Caleb and my father were buried, but my mother was cremated. If you knew that, you would be the only person to have her ashes."

Max smiles. He opens a drawer in his desk and pulls out a simple charcoal grey vase. "Where shall we dump them?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Tris POV:**

"So, Max," I say bitterly. "Do you just capture little children to do your dirty work?"

He looks at me sadly. "It's not like that. Who told you that anyways? Pedrad, Eaton?"

"Eaton?" I ask.

"Four," he reminds me. "Now who told you?"

I look away.

Max doesn't press. I think he feels guilty about my family's death. It sounds like he could have stopped it and feels terrible for not doing so. Part of me forgives him, but part of me hates him none the less.

"What about in the Chasm?" I say. "It sounds like she grew up around here."

Max pats my shoulder. "Wu!" he calls.

A female guard carrying the vase with my mother's ashes brings it to him.

"Thank you," Max says.

The guard nods at Max and winks at me. As she walks away, I see a hawk tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Tori Wu," Max says. "She's one of my best ring leaders."

"A woman?"

Max nods. "Age and gender don't matter here."

I sigh. "Anyone else I should know?"

Max smiles. "A man named Eric. But for now, let's focus on this." Max whistles loudly. Two men jog up to his side and stand at attention.

"My daughter Natalie," Max starts. "is dead. Let us honor her now by tossing her ashes into the Chasm!"

All of Dauntless cheers.

"For Natalie the brave!" Max shouts. He hands the vase to Eric.

Eric pulls it arm back to toss it over the Chasm.

"Stop!" I shout.

Eric looks at Max, who nods.

"What?" Eric asks.

"Do not throw them," I say shakily. "That is the last thing I have of my mother's."

"Give the vase to her, Eric," Max says.

Eric hands it to me. I catch him looking lustily at my body. But once I glare at him, he looks away.

"Toss it in," Max whispers to me.

I open the lid of the vase and pour the ashes into the Chasm. Tears form in my eyes as the water of the Chasm washes over what's left of my water and makes them disappear.

"Why didn't you throw the vase in with it?" Max scolds, after the crowd disperses.

I don't think before answering. I just stare right back at him. " You would throw your daughter's ashes? I wouldn't. I would respect them."

Max sighs. "Tris, don't you see? We respect the Dauntless by throwing their ashes."

I look away. "Well, I know for a fact that my mother would not want her ashes to be thrown. Four told me himself that my mother felt she did not belong here. Now goodbye." I start walking away, but Max calls back to me.

"Where are you going?"

I turn back to him and shrug. "Somewhere I belong."

"You belong here."

"My mother didn't. I don't."

"You don't know that."

I shrug again. "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. All I know is, you can't just force me to stay with you."

Max sighs. "I'm your legal guardian. And with Jeanine hunting you down, this is the only place you're safe."

I glare at him once more, then walk away. I push open the double doors and walk out of the Pit, the vase that held my mother's ashes still in my hand. I run my other hand against the crumbling wall and stop when I reach a set of letters. _Natalie_, it reads, in a younger version of my mother's handwriting. I sniffle and run away from it, not bearing to see anything of my mother's writing.

My footsteps echo in the abandoned hallway. Then boom! I bump into some boy's chest.

"Tris!" Uriah says happily. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"I saw your face in the Pit during my mother's ceremony earlier," I respond flatty. "And before that, last night."

He shrugs off the thought. "Anyways, wanna go zip lining? You look like you could use some cheering up."

I shrug as well. "Possibly."

"Are you coming?"

"How bad can it be compared to the rest of Dauntless?"

"Then come on!"

He takes my hand and leads me through the back doors of the Compound. Suddenly, we come to a stop.

"Oh," Uriah says. "Four."

"Where are you taking her?" Four asks.

"Zip lining," Uriah answers, "Wanna come?"

Four glares at him and shakes his head.

"Where've you been anyways, mister bodyguard?" Uriah asks.

"In the Control Room," Tobias answers, his voice rumbling lowly. Then he looks back at Uriah. "Are you going, or not?"

Uriah pushes past him and takes my hand again. "Run," he whispers.

* * *

><p>"So you've never jumped on a train?" Pedrad-Zeke-asks.<p>

I shake my head. "Max had me jump off it. How much harder can it be?"

Zeke shakes his head, dumbfounded. "Very."

Uriah puts his arm around me. "When did you learn Zeke?"

Zeke pulls Uriah away from me and puts him in a head lock. "We grew up here, dumba*s."

I roll my eyes.

"Hey!" an unfamiliar person shouts. "Train's coming! Get ready!"

Zeke and Uriah pull apart from each other and get on their knees.

"What are you doing?" I shout over the wind.

"Train jumping formation!" Uriah shouts back. "Just follow what we do!"

As the train passes by us, members of Dauntless jump on one by one. I follow Uriah, but stumble as I try to jump on. Zeke grabs me.

"Whatever you do," he says. "hold on."

A minute later, Uriah takes my other arm and pulls me up. "There ya' go," he grunts.

"Thanks," I say. "Are all these people going zip lining?"

Uriah shakes his head. "Some have business to do."

"Doing what?"

"Haven't you heard?" Uriah asks.

"Heard what?"

"Some of them are going incognito and pretending to seek refuge among Jeanine Matthews' people-the Erudite. They're claiming that Dauntless has started to abuse them."

"Won't Jeanine find out?"

Uriah grins. "Dauntless has the best actors." Then he looks out of the train. "Time to jump!" he yells. He looks back to me and whispers, "You said you've jumped before?"

I nod.

"Perfect." He takes my hand and pulls me off the train.

* * *

><p>"So?" Zeke asks. "What'd you think of it?"<p>

"Awesome," I breath. "Can I go again?"

"Absolutely," Shauna-Zeke's girlfriend-says. Then she tugs on my arm. "Look up there."

I look up to the zip line and see Uriah. I laugh. "He sounds like a strangled cat!"

When we get back to the Compound, the first two people I see are Max and Four.

"Hi," I say, trying to distract them and walk past them.

"Hold it," Max says firmly. "Where've you been?"

"Zip lining," I say. "It was _really_ fun. You should try it sometime."

"I already have," Max answers. "What took you so long?"

I shrug. "We all went twice." Then I look at Four. "Why didn't you come with us?"

He shrugs. "I had things to do here."

"Seriously," I say. "That was the best time of my life, apart from Caleb's twelfth birthday."

Max pats my shoulder. "You'll be fine."

I shrug him off. "That's it? That's seriously all you can say?! I just lost my family a month ago and all you can say is 'I'll be fine'?"

"Tris," he says.

"Nothing you say helps," I add.

He sighs. "You're right. It'll take time, but you'll get better. You're strong enough." Then Max smiles. "Eat with us. It's dinnertime." He takes my hand and leads me to a table filled with burgers, fries, and soft drinks. "Dig in."

I shake my head. "I'm not hungry."

"Beatrice, you went zip lining. Of course you're hungry."

I shake my head again.

Max continues, "Did you even eat last night?"

I don't answer.

"Or the nights before I found you?"

"A little bit," I mutter.

"Tris," Max whispers. "Starving yourself won't make them come back."

"Fine," I grumble. "I'll eat a burger."

Max smiles knowingly.

"What's this?" I ask, holding up a bottle of red sauce.

Beside me, Four chews and swallows. "Ketchup," he says. Then he smiles, "Try it. It's good." Then his demeanor changes. He stares icily at his plate.

When I look up, I see Eric. "Can I sit here?" he asks Max.

Max laughs. "Pull up a chair and make yourself at home. You know that, Eric."

Eric sits down next to me. "Hey, princess."

Beside me, Four clenches his fists.

Eric reaches past me for the ketchup. He smells of onions and sweat.

"You could have easily asked me to pass that to you," I say quietly.

He smiles. "What fun would that be?" Then he looks at me. "Aren't you going to eat that burger?"

"Oh, I am," I say. Then, to prove my point, I take a bite.

"Good, right?"

I nod slowly. This burger is really good, though.

Eric laughs and puts his arm around my shoulder.

I look desperately at Four. He looks back to me pitifully, then looks down to his empty plate and doesn't say anything. He just takes another burger.

"Excuse me," I say to Eric. "But it's late. I've got to go back to my room."

Eric looks at his watch. "It's seven thirty. You haven't even had any cake yet."

"I did a lot today. I'm _really_ tired."

"I can take you back to your room."

I shake my head. "I can go back myself."

"I insist."

"And I insist," Four speaks up. "that as her bodyguard I take her."

"You're her day guard," Eric says. "I'm her night guard."

"You mean to say..." I ask Eric, trailing off.

He nods. "I stand outside your room every night. But if you don't feel guarded, I can watch you sleep princess."

I shake my head fiercely. "Come on Four."

* * *

><p>The week goes by fairly quickly. For five days, I lie in my bed and cry, until Max coaxes me out. He's offered to get me a counselor, but I don't want one. Now that I'm Dauntless, I'll get over this myself.<p>

"Tris," Max says forcefully, his voice muffled through the closed door. "This is it. Yesterday was the last day I will let you stay secluded in your room. Come out."

I don't answer.

Max opens the door and marches in. He turns on a light in the room. I duck back under the covers.

"Don't pretend to be asleep," he says. "I know you're awake."

"Turn the light out."

"Why?"

"I like it dark."

Max sighs. "It's depressing."

"It should be."

"No," he says. "Look at you. You're a disgrace to your family."

I start to sniffle. A tear flows freely down my cheek. Then, more follow.

"Beatrice," Max says. "_I know for a fact_ that you're stronger than this. Get up."

I sit up in the bed and wipe tears off my face. I must look like a little child.

"I'm giving you fifteen minutes until I expect to see you in my office. Do _not_ go back to bed."

"Ah, excellent," he says exactly fifteen minutes later. "Did you have a good sleep?"

I glare at him and sit down.

"Now Tris," he says. "I don't like to see you pitying yourself and looking like crap every time I see you. Have you made up your mind?"

"About what?"

"What I asked you a week ago. We need your help, as you need ours."

"No I don't."

He shakes his head. "Oh but you do, Beatrice. Look at yourself. Circles under your eyes, cheeks stained with teardrops."

"Fine," I nod. "And how do you need my help?"

"As I said, you are very valuable. I don't just plan to bargain you off to Jeanine, but I don't expect you to just lay low around here either. I want you to lead missions for us."


	4. Chapter 4

**Tris POV:**

I stand up abruptly. "Why me?"

Max laughs. "Why you? You're perfect! You have valuable information from your childhood and on top of that," he says. "You don't like to be bored. This will give you a chance for some action."

"And if I say no?" I ask.

"Then you are to live here and become a member. You don't have to go on missions yet," he says. "I just ask that you come to meetings and requirements that all members go to. And if you don't go on missions, I want you to help. As I said, you know information that is valuable to us."

I laugh and sit back down. "Max, I spent my childhood getting scolded for not sharing my lunches with this one girl that always forgot hers and helping out at food banks after school each day."

Max nods. "And that's the one thing I made sure your mother taught you. You know the locals to all the Chicago food banks that Dauntless uses as bases for meetings with other gangs."

"So how come I never noticed them?" I ask.

"I made sure you never got suspicious. It would have put everyone in danger."

"You know, I'm getting really tired of hearing stuff that I missed when I was younger."

Max smiles sadly. "It's better this way."

"What way?" I ask. "The way that no one wins? Or the way you think is best?"

Max doesn't answer. He just folds his hands behind his back. "So will you do it?"

I shrug and sniffle. "If you promise I'll be able to get revenge on my family's murderer."

Max smiles to himself. "That's already been taken care of. Tori Wu, my ringleader you met yesterday, is leading a team to capture Jeanine Matthews. They leave tonight." Max smiles slightly, then clears his throat. "That aside, _will_ you do it?"

"Give me another week," I say. "Let me make up my mind."

"Beatrice, I've given you one week already."

I sigh. "You know what today is?" I ask with a shaky breath. "It's been thirty days. Thirty. Only one month since my family-our family-died. And I don't know how close you were to them, but they were my only friends. And you have this whole compound that supports you." I ran an absent-minded hand through my hand and sigh again, rethinking this. "You know what? Just give me a day to make up my mind. Please. And if not, I guess you're right. I can stay here. But I don't know if I'm ready to work for you yet."

Max's eyes light up. Then he smiles sadly at me. "Alright," he says. "Four is outside my office. Ask him to show you around the Compound."

I stand up but keep my gaze down. "Look, I know you want what's best for me, but I just want to be left alone right now."

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, I wake up before the sun and quietly open my door, peering outside the door to make sure no one's there. Fortunately, Eric's snoring, his arm draped over the arm of his captain's chair.<p>

I shut the door quietly and tiptoe down the hallway. When I get to the doors of the Compound, I start to run, not caring how loud my footsteps echo. When I get to the train tracks, I stop in my tracks. Just like a week ago, about twenty Dauntless members, all decked out in black jumpsuits with a pattern of red flames on the front, get into a running position.

"Beatiful, right?" a voice next to me asks.

I turn around face Four. He smirks at me, and takes a half-chewed toothpick from his mouth, flicking it to the ground. He shoves his hands into his pockets. He's so close I can tell that toothpick was coated in mint.

I start to move away, but he grabs my hand. "Stay," he whispers. "And watch this part."

I weaken under his touch and relax my stiffened shoulders. One by one, the Dauntless members jump onto the train gracefully.

"What are they doing?" I ask.

"Train jumping formation. They've probably just come back from a night assignment," he responds. Four takes his hand off mine and clasps his behind his back. "Shall we get on? It's better watching them jump off."

I shrug. "Sure."

Four takes my hand and pulls me onto the train.

I sniffle and wipe my face with the sleeve of what was my mother's black sweater from when she was my age. My mother. The only place I can think is on the train, It's quiet, aside from the gushing wind.

Four sits down next to me. He stays quiet, then turns to me. "You know, if Max found us here, he'd kill us."

I shrug. Minutes pass with the scenery that goes by until I finally look directly at him. "Four, what's your real name?"

He averts his gaze down. "Don't call me anything," he responds. "for now."

With that, he gets up and jumps off the train. "Follow me!" he shouts above the gusting wind.

"Hey!" I call. I should run after him, but then the Dauntless start to jump off. In groups of three, they link arms and take a running jump off the train. They sail into the Net, forming snowflake patterns. Then, there are only two left. They are holding a woman, who is wearing a smart blue coat. Her hair is in a bun and her chin is held up, dignified. The Dauntless pull her down into the Pit with her.

I jump off after them and try to keep up, but I lose my balance and fall onto the asphalt, breaking the fall with my arm.

"Tris!" Four screams. "Haven't you jumped off a train before?"

I wipe blood and tears off my face. "Only three times," I respond.

"What happened to your arm?" he asks, touching my elbow slightly.

I shrug. "It hurts."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock! You fell on it," Four says. Then he looks at my expression and smiles sadly. "It's gonna be fine. Max won't even know what happened. You probably just sprained it. I'll take you to the Infirmary."

I sniffle. "Not there."

"Well where else, princess?"

I shrug. "Infirmary then."

"I can take you to my place," Four says suddenly. "I know how to clean the wound."

I nod. "Okay then."

Four takes my good hand and pulls me down into the Net. We land with a large thud, thankfully not on my bad arm.

As Four helps me off the Net, he looks at me. "Anything else I can help you with, princess?"

"Who was that woman they had with them?"

Four gulps. "Jeanine Matthews."

* * *

><p>"Clear the halls! Prisoner coming through!" Dauntless guards shout.<p>

Four takes my good hand and leads us in what must be the direction of the Infirmary.

"Hey!" one of the guards shouts. He walks towards us, bat in hand and gun strapped to hip. "Where do ya' think you're a goin'?!"

Four stiffens slightly. "Just bringing the princess to the Infirmary, sir. She's sprained her wrist, it looks like."

The guard grunts and squints at my arm. Then he nods and opens the doors leading out of the Pit for us. "Be quick," he warns. "Max wants everyone out here. Everyone, especially the princess."

"Princess?" I ask. "Why does everyone call me that?"

Four shrugs. "The name just stuck. And, you should know, Max treats his family like royalty."

I laugh. "When did I ever know him before a week ago?"

Four shrugs. "He used to adore your mother, and even wanted Caleb to apprentice him. But your father would not have it. Now come on."

He tugs on my arm and leads me into the Infirmary. He walks up to the front desk and gestures towards me. "Princess appears to have injured her arm," Four says. "Can you prepare a room?"

I walk up to the desk. "I don't need an entire room-"

"Right this way," a nurse says. "Tris Prior, room 409."

Four nods. "Go on ahead. I'll wait out here."

"No," I say. "Please, I need you."

Four hesitates. "Fine," he says, walking past me and into the room. He leans against the doorway and crosses his arms, watching me. I follow him and sit down on a mint green cot. It's probably brighter than anything in Dauntless. Anything except the blue vodka I've seen them serve.

Then a doctor walks in. "Princess," he says. "It's my pleasure, on behalf of Dauntless, to extend my condolences to you. Now, how can I help you?"

I hold out my swollen arm.

"My, my, my," the doctor says. Then he smiles. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Everest."

"Tris," I respond. "Call me Tris."

"Of course, Tris." The name sounds funny on his tongue, but I appreciate someone actually calling me by my real name for once. Max strokes a hand through his greying hair

Doctor Everest takes out a pad of gauze. "By the looks of it, you've sprained your wrist. If I wrap it, it'll set properly." He wraps it in black, of course, gauze, then tapes it with medical tape.

"There ya' go," he says. "Nearly good as new. Now, if you have any trouble, Tris, you just come down here and ask for me. Okay?"

"Okay," I squeak. "Thank you."

As Doctor Everest walks out, Four gets back on his feet and uncrosses his arms. He presses a finger to his ear, and stays quiet. Finally, he looks at me. "Max is expecting us in the Pit," Four tells me.

He leads us out of the Infirmary and into the Pit. People watch us as we walk up to where Max is, just in front of the Chasm. Max rubs a hand through his graying hair and Jeanine smiles knowingly from the chair where she sits, tied up. Max takes a look at her, and slaps her cheek. It grows red, and she fights a grunt.

"Beatrice," Max welcomes. "How nice of you to join us." He takes one more look at me before pulling a gun from under his belt and pointing it right at Jeanine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tris POV:**

"Stop!" I shout, to myself more than anyone. "Don't shoot her!"

Max averts his gaze towards me but doesn't let his guard down.

"Tris," Eric hisses, from behind me. "What are you doing?"

I look back at him and glare. "Saving my grandfather's butt." Then I look back to Jeanine and Max. "Look, I don't know what just went on," I admit. "But I have a feeling Jeanine didn't tell you something, Max."

Max keeps his finger on the trigger but lets his arm fall. "She's right, Jeanine. Give me your access code."

Jeanine smiles. "Never."

Max smiles back and shoots her foot. Jeanine cries out in pain, but only twists her face and smirks uncomfortably.

Max keeps her gaze on her. He presses the barrel of his gun to her face. "Ready to tell me now?"

Jeanine grunts in pain. "No."

Max nods to Eric, who takes Jeanine's arm and bends it back until he hears a crack.

I gasp and turn around, bumping into Four's chest. "She deserves to die," I whisper. "But must it be so painful for the rest of us?"

Four strokes the back of my head, but keeps his other hand resting on the gun that's strapped to his hip. "I know, Tris, I know," he whispers back. Then he turns me around, just as Jeanine finally gives in to Max.

"Fine!" she shouts. "If you want it, I'll give it to you!"

"You stupid diddly-daddler," Max hisses. "Tell me what it is now."

"What's he looking for?" I ask Four.

"Jeanine keeps a private file with all the city codes for different bands of gangs throughout Chicago," Four responds. "And Max wants them to reclaim his territory that was taken away from him."

"Oh," is all I say.

Then Jeanine erupts in a scream. "It's 60602!" she screams. Then she clutches her stomach and aimlessly gropes for a soldier's arm. She fails and her head slumps down.

I scream and try to run.

But Eric tugs on my arm and holds me back.

My scream dies out.

"What's the deal, bitch? Max just saved your ass," he hisses. "Now go up there and give him your gratitude."

Four glares at Eric and slips his hand around mine, taking Eric's away. "Go away," he growls.

"Oooh," Eric teases. "Feisty."

Four flips him off. "Come on, Tris."

I don't hesitate; Four follows my echoing footsteps as I run as fast as I can out of the Pit.

He says nothing until we get to my apartment, only taking out a key card when we get there and opening the door for me.

"There ya' go," he says.

He starts to turn around, but I call him back.

"What?" he asks.

"Thank you," I manage out. "For everything you did for me today."

Four smiles slightly. "My pleasure." Then he shakes his head and starts to laugh, keeping his gaze towards the floor.

"What?"

"You were such a badass back there, princess. If you hadn't stopped Max, he would have killed Jeanine without getting his information."

I smile back. "Thanks?"

"You're welcome," he responds. But he won't take his eyes off me.

I laugh. "What?"

"Someone's in a good mood," he murmurs.

"No shit, Sherlock," I say. "They found the woman who killed my family and now she's dead. I got what I wanted."

Four nods sharply. "L-listen," he stutters out. "There's a party at Zeke's place tonight. You should come."

I gesture towards myself. "Me?" I ask with a laugh. "I don't think I've ever been to a celebration that qualifies as a 'party.'"

"Oh?" Four says. "Well I assure you, _princess_, you won't regret coming." He starts to leave again, and I call him back once more.

"Where is Zeke's apartment?"

Four turns back and smiles. "Follow the crowd. Zeke's known for his parties. A fifth the compound is estimated to be there."

"That many people?" I ask. "In one apartment?"

Four shakes his head, laughing. "Zeke's party is what I'd call a big bachelor pad."

* * *

><p>And indeed it is a bachelor pad. Zeke's apartment is the same size of the little shack of a house I used to live in, only this one is more spread out. I never knew a guy could decorate so perfectly, with neon ribbon and black lights everywhere, until Zeke stumbled up to me with Shauna on his arm.<p>

"Princess!" Zeke roars. "How nice of you to join us!"

I look at Shauna. "Is he drunk?"

She nods.

"Well," I say. "I must say the place looks nice."

"Thanks," Shauna says. "And I must say you look nice in that dress, Beatrice."

"Tris," I correct. "Call me Tris."

"Of course," Shauna says. "So sorry."

I give her the weirdest look and laugh. "What was that?"

Shauna blinks. "What?"

"Why do you all treat me like royalty?" I ask. "I'm not that special."

Shauna smiles sadly. "Max thinks you are. Between you and me, when your family died, Max was crushed. He wasn't right for a long time. He refused to eat, refused to get help, refused to let everyone see how depressed he was.

"Then he found out about you," Shauna continues. "He remembered that Natalie had two children, and only Caleb's body was found. He enlisted every free member to track you down. Then Max remembered your address. Just twenty-three days after your family died, Max went to your house. And here we are today."

Shauna then gets two shot glasses off the counter. I decline it politely, then press, "What about Jeanine?"

She shrugs. "If you want to know about the Erudite-that's Jeanine's gang-I'd ask Four." Then Shauna smiles and drains her shot glass. "Speaking of Four, I think someone fancies you."

I raise my eyebrows and shake my head instantly.

Shauna throws her head back and laughs. "Why not?"

"Why?" I roll my eyes. "He's the single worst guy here."

"He's hot," Shauna suggests.

"And he's very private and seems to take pride in making me feel even more like crap."

"Really?" Shauna asks. "I don't think so. I think he likes-"

"OnlylisteningtoMaxandmakingmefeelguilty," I say, before Shauna can continue.

She just sighs and leans against the wall. "Keep telling yourself that, honey," she says. Then her face lights up. "Four's here now! Speaking of which, girl. You look hot tonight."

"Thanks?" I ask. I wasn't entirely sure what to wear, but when I opened my mother's armoire, I found a little black dress and a pair of black boots shoved to the side. They fit perfectly.

Shauna smiles a toothy grin. "You're welcome," she comments, before shoving me towards Four and making us bump into each other.

"Oh," Four says, his voice as deep and rumbling and sexy as ever.

"Sorry!" I squeak, backing up into the wall and flatting my dress with my bare hands.

Four narrows his gaze at me, then smiles. "I was wondering if you would come." I must be trembling, because he holds onto my forearm and looks me in the eye. "Are you alright?"

I nod. "Just nervous."

Four smiles, and picks up two beers. "Want one?" he asks, cracking one open.

I shake my head. "No thanks."

Four nods. "That's wise of you."

"I've just never had alcohol before," I say.

"You're how old?" Four asks. "Sixteen?"

I nod. "My parents are-were-very strict.

"Ah."

"Well," I say. "Is this all that happens at parties?"

Four shrugs. "We could play a game or-"

"What kind of game?" I ask.

Four smiles slightly and shakes his head. He pushes his sleeves up to his elbows and shifts his balance, the beer can trembling in his hand as he wipes sweat off his forehead with his other hand. And just now I realize I've never seen him so nervous, or dressed up. He's wearing black slacks, which is something to say considering all the other men in here are wearing jeans with holes or black combat shorts. Four is also wearing a black dress shirt that has the buttons loosely undone at the top, making any girl's attention go to the view of the white undershirt he has on and the fact that the shirt emphasizes the huge muscles on his arms.

Then Four clears his throat. "Zeke's parties are known for being big and bold."

"As in...?" I ask.

"Truth or Dare, Would You Rather, Never Have I, stuff like that." Then Four sees my blank expression and laughs. "You've never heard of those, have you?"

I shake my head and look down.

"So," Four says awkwardly. "How's the arm?"

I shrug and show him my cast, right when Zeke wolf whistles and calls everyone over to him. "Everyone get 'cho butts over here!" he screams. "Who wants to play Truth or Dare?"

The room erupts in screams.

"I'm gonna go I think," I say weakly, but Four grabs my arm once again.

"Please," he begs. "Don't leave yet."

I sigh. "One round of whatever this game is," I say. "Then I'm leaving."

Four nods, both acknowledging what I say and showing me his gratitude.

"Everyone gather round!" Zeke screams. Then he smiles at Four. "Truth or Dare, Four?"

Four sighs, sips his beer, and runs a hand through his short hair. "Dare," he says wearily.

"Kiss the princess."

Four sets his beer down and smiles uncertainly at me. He pecks my cheek lightly before looking back at Zeke.

Zeke groans and puts his hands around Shauna. They begin to make out, then Zeke breaks apart and looks at Four. "Like that, you idiot." When he gets a glare from Four, Zeke just grins. "What? It's no secret you like the princess."

Four smiles meekly at me before pressing his lips to mine. "I want to love you," he murmurs against my lips. "I want to memorize your body with my lips and I want you to know me." And, if its even possible for him to get closer, he does. "I want you and I to be inseparable."

Then he breaks apart from me and looks at Zeke. Four takes my hand and helps me stand up. "Tris and I will be leaving now," he announces, turning the room dead silent.


	6. Chapter 6

**Tris POV:**

I slam my tray down next to Max and mumble a 'hello.'

He smiles. "Tris, how nice of you to finally join us for breakfast."

I roll my eyes and pick up a muffin. "Not in the mood," I grumble, picking at the pastry.

Max smiles sympathetically. "What's the matter?"

"_I said_," I repeat. "I'm not in the mood." I pick up my tray and walk over to the initiates I met last week. "Mind if I sit here?" I ask, tapping Christina's shoulder.

Her short, brown, triangular bob whips around and she grins at me. "Tris! Sit down, please! Oh, it feels so good to have another girl to talk to! All Marlene wants to do is suck faces with Uriah and Lynn won't talk unless-"

I slump down into the seat and Christina frowns. "What's the matter?"

I shrug.

"It's Four, isn't it?" Christina asks. "I heard about the party last night. We weren't invited, but Uriah and Marlene snuck in. My golly! And they said Four kissed you! Like full on, in front of everyone-"

"Christina."

"-and then you left and everyone thought it was to-"

"Christina."

"-but we all knew Max would allow no such thing-"

"Christina!"

She quiets. "Sorry," she squeaks. "But no one has broken Four yet, not even Zeke. Like no one knows anything about him. And between you and me, Four's pretty cute."

"Cute?" I ask, stiffening a laugh.

Christina rolls her eyes. "Okay, princess. Not cute. But buff. Hot. Probably born with washboard abs."

I sigh. "I'd better leave."

Christina looks at me. "Please," she whispers. "Stay. I've got no one to talk to."

"What about that other boy?" I ask. "He seems nice."

"Are you talking about Al?"

I shrug.

"Will?" Christina asks with a blush. "He's definitely in my league. But if I talk to him-"

"Go for it," I say. "Just do it."

"You sure, Tris?"

I nod.

Christina smiles. "Thanks," she mutters, as she walks past me and straight towards Will.

I smile back and stand up with both our trays in hand. But as I get to the trash, a body smacks into me.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry!" I stammer. I wobble back but the person grabs my free wrist and steadies me.

"No," he insists. "Forgive _me_."

"Huh?" I ask.

He chuckles and takes the trays from me. "I'm Al," he says. "And you must be Tris."

I nod. "Nice to meet you."

Al smiles. "Forgive me," he stutters. "But I really must be leaving. Nice talking to you princess."

He speeds off, leaving me wondering what just happened.

* * *

><p>I swallow a breath that's not there as Max tells me to sit down. I do, and he looks on at me patiently.<p>

"I'm ready," I say. "I don't want to lead people, but I want to fight."

He crosses his arms and continues to look at me. "Why the sudden urge?"

I shrug. I can't tell him it's because I want to get away from Four. I'm not even sure if I want to be away from Four. Last night was just so different, though thrilling, from anything I have ever experienced.

"Alright then," Max says, not waiting for me to swallow my answer or take it back. "You begin training tomorrow, eight AM in the training room. Four will show you there."

"Training?" I ask. "With the other initiates?"

Max nods and clears his throat. "Will that be a problem?"

I shake my head profoundly. "No; of course not. I was just wondering. I didn't know and-"

"Everyone here becomes official members at sixteen. They can choose to leave the Compound, but either way, only ten initiates will remain members."

I bite my lip nervously. If I don't pass, will I be kicked out of Dauntless? A part of me is reassured and convinced that Max would never dream of kicking me out of Dauntless, but a different part of me still wonders what the outcome will be. Because that part of me is scared that I'll be all on my own, with only Jeanine's people to get to me.

Then Max clears his throat yet again. "You okay, Tris?" he asks, looking at me intently.

I nod and clutch my hurt arm to my chest.

Max looks at it disapprovingly. "You hurt your arm?" he asks.

I look down. Then I nod and look up. "Look," I say. "Just let me say one thing."

Max nods for me to continue.

"It seems to me that the old Max didn't baby people around or ask how they _sprained their wrist_. Because that Max would have believed that the Dauntless are capable of anything and could toughen it up and get through it."

Max sighs. "You're right. I would have been that way. And I still am. Can be, if you want me to."

I look at him. "Do whatever is best for this Compound."

Max grins. "Yes, ma'am."

"One question," I say.

"Shoot."

"Who's the initiate trainer? I overheard someone talking about an Amar?"

Max shakes his head softly. "Because he's out leading a mission, Four and Eric will be overseeing the training of your group."

* * *

><p>"Think on the bright side," Christina says. "Our trainer-and your bodyguard-" Christina grins. "is hot. That's not our fault, now is it?"<p>

I shrug. "I guess not entirely."

Christina punches my arm. "Ever since I came here all the talk has been about him. All the girls want him. All the girls want to fuck him. All the girls want to claim him as theirs. Ya dee da dee da."

I look down. "Okay...?"

Christina laughs. "Yeah, it is kinda strange. And he's always been really distant: few friends, doing whatever Max wants-aside from being a leader, that is."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Four was first in his initiate class and should have been a leader. But he declined and the position was given to Eric, who, I have to say, abuses it."

I shrug as well. "He seems like the kind of person who would."

Then Christina grins. "As for Will..."

I perk up. "What happened?"

"I kissed his cheek and he asked me out and my life is fab-fab!" Christina shouts.

I grin. "That's great."

Then a tall, handsome blonde boy with celery green eyes sneaks up behind Christina and crushes her in a bear hug. He kisses her cheek, and then lets go.

Christina lets out a small shriek and hugs him back. "Will! You naughty boy!" Then she laughs. "You've got to meet Tris, because Tris is, well, a goddess."

Will smiles at me and sticks out his hand. "Hello, Tris. I've never met a goddess before."

I shake his hand. "You must be Will."

He nods. "Christina's told me all about you. I heard you are going to be in our initiate class?"

I nod back. "Starting tomorrow."

"See you then," Will says, dragging Christina away with him.

She waves goodbye and falls right into his arms as he guides her towards the doors of the Pit. They're in love.

And I wonder if I will ever love like that.

* * *

><p>I stare at my burger absentmindedly. A body sits down next to me and starts to scarf down their burger. After a few moments of loud chewing, I look at the person next to me.<p>

Four.

He wipes his face with a napkin and I wonder if he has the most manners out of anyone in Dauntless.

Then he takes another bite and the process repeats. He finally swallows and catches me looking at him.

"How's your arm?" he suddenly asks.

I shrug. "It'll be fine," I say. I wonder if he knows that I'm joining him for training tomorrow.

"I'm sorry," he whispers quietly. "For last night," he quickly adds.

I shrug. "I heard you're going to be training the initiates with Eric?"

Four nods. "And you'll be assigned a new bodyguard-"

"No," I say. "Actually, I'm going to join you."

He raises his eyebrows.

"I want to fight," I explain. "I can't just stand back and watch."

"But Jeanine is dead. What more do you want?"

I don't look at him. I focus my gaze onto my plate. "I want to know why she killed them. What was so bad that they had to die?"

Four sighs. He laughs to himself. "How do I explain this, Tris? You're too inexperienced to know the full reason."

"Inexperienced?" I ask with a laugh. "If I had only been with them, maybe I could have stopped them from dying."

"But you didn't," Four says. "That's what matters. You're still here." He smiles sadly at me and caresses my cheek. "Don't live in the past regretting what was out of your control, Tris," he whispers. "Live in the moment."

And with that, he takes his tray in both hands and walks away, leaving me with one hand next to my heart and one hand on the cheek he touched, still feeling the warmth of his touch.

I never want that warmth to go away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tris POV:**

That night, he walked me to me room, kissed my cheek, and walked away with the worst posture I've ever seen him employ.

And now, he knocks on my door. "Tris," he says, his low voice muffled by the door. "I'm here to take you to the Training Room."

I groan and sit up in my mother's bed.

He clears his throat. I can see him standing up tall, taller than last night, taller than ever with the best possible posture, his gun strapped to his thigh and a black muscly shirt. "Training starts in thirty minutes."

I get out of bed and put on some of my mother's old black clothes and brush my teeth and hair.

Four smiles. "Finally," he teases.

I roll my eyes. "So where's the training room?"

Four keeps his gaze ahead. "Let's go to the Pit first. You won't get lunch until one-thirty."

I don't tell him that I don't mind. That until Zeke and Max found me, I hadn't eaten a real meal in days. The last one I had before I came here was with Susan and Robert. They insisted I eat one day when they came over to my house and found me passed out next to the only picture my family had with us all smiling. And the embarrassing thing was that I hadn't showered in days.

He takes us into the Pit and we each get trays of food.

I sit down in our usual spot, but Four shakes his head. "Max wants to see you."

We walk towards Max, who has a beer in his hand, even at this time in the morning. "Beatrice," he greets sternly, with a nod. Then he waves off Four and motions for me to sit down. "I know you don't know anything about fighting. I don't expect you to. But if one boy lays one slimy finger on you, you kick their balls, okay?"

"Okay," I say back awkwardly. What is he talking about?

Then a shout comes out from behind me.

Four has Eric in a choke hold. Max slams his beer can down and stands up abruptly. I turn my head and watch as Eric threatens Four as his face turns redder and redder.

"You two!" Max shouts. "Over here!"

"I swear Four," Eric mutters. "I will kill you in your sl-"

"Eric," Max says. "Go take a walk."

He grumbles at Four then jogs off. Four walks up to me.

"What was that?" Max and I say at the same time.

Four clears his throat and shifts his balance from foot to foot. "Nothing sir," he says.

Max eyes him suspiciously before waving him off. "Take Beatrice to training," he says, before swallowing another gulp of beer.

* * *

><p>"Today," Four booms. "We will start with upper-body training. Everyone go to a punching bag!"<p>

I scramble after the rest of the group as Four goes up to one and explains how to punch correctly.

"Did you see Four and Eric in the Pit earlier?" Christina whispers.

Will nods.

"Well what were they fighting about?"

Will glances at me. I raise my eyebrows at him and he motions for me to come closer. Christina's listening in as well.

"Max wants Eric and you to get married," Will starts. "But Four thinks that you're not ready."

"How do you know this?" I ask.

Will shrugs. "Uriah and I overheard Four tell Zeke about it."

I look down at my feet. I hope Max will respect my feelings. I never want to get with Eric.

Especially after that night.

"Prior!" a voice barks.

I look up to see Four tower over me.

"Yes sir?" I ask.

"Why don't you show me how to throw a punch?" Four says cockily.

I wimpily throw my arm at the punching bag. Four catches it and sighs. "Keep tension here," he says softly, putting his hand on my stomach, which suddenly has butterflies in it.

When I look up to him, he's moved on to someone else.

Then I hear a giggle, and look at Christina. "He sooo likes you!" she says. "What happened that night? After the party, I mean."

I shrug, and punch the punching bag twice. Four is always watching.

Then Christina clears her throat awkwardly. "Well?"

"We um," I clear my throat awkwardly. "Four just walked me to my room."

"_And_?"

"He kissed me again," I mumble.

Christina squeals happily and twirls a piece of hair on her index finger. "That's so cute!" She looks to see if anyone is looking at us, then leans into me. "Ever since I came here, no one has broken Four. He's been just so removed from the rest of Dauntless. And apparently Max is making Eric ask Four if he wants to apply for a leader position. And Four always says no. That explains this morning."

I shrug and go back to punching the bag in front of me.

Then Christina elbows me. 'He's eyeing you," she says giggly. Then she starts to twirl her hair again. "So what have you two been up to since your encounter?"

"He's just been awkward," I say, taking my hands away from the punching bag.

Christina drops her hair as well as her jaw. "Come on girl!" Then she leans down to me. "Is it your long nose? Or the way you always dress in baggy clothes?"

"Hey!" I say. "And no. He's probably just nervous."

"Why? Every girl in Dauntless would give an arm and a leg just to have a conversation with him, and here he is kissing you and walking you to your room."

Suddenly, the room goes quiet as Four's footsteps clip the air. "You two!" he says. "Get back to work!"

It takes us a moment to realize that Four is talking to Christina and me.

So he says it again. "Prior! Kravitz!" he shouts. "Now!"

My arm hits the punching bag in front of me without thinking. Then two more follow. Christina does the same and soon the only sound echoing off the high ceiling and matted floor is the sound of limbs slapping the sand-filled bags.

"He so heard us gossiping about him," Christina whispers. "I bet he was gonna blush when-"

Christina's voice dies down when she sees Eric walk in.

"Finally decide to show up, eh?" Four asks.

Eric sees us staring at us and glares at Four as the door slams shut behind him and he walks onto the matted floor. His footsteps suck the only sound out of the room and whoever didn't notice him before notices him now.

"What?" he shouts. "Get back to work!" Then he walks toward Four. "You made me late!"

Four ignores him and correct's someone's punch.

"Four!" Eric shouts. "Look at your leader!"

I look back to Four, and this time he's looking right at me. He winks at me and finally looks at Eric. "What do you want?"

"Is that any way to address your leader?"

"It sure is when Max thinks higher of me than he does of you," Four retorts.

"Don't," I whisper. "Please don't start a fight."

Eric walks up to him and grabs his forearm. With his other hand, he extends his arm to slap Four, but before his arm reaches Four's face, Four catches it and twists it back. Eric grunts, but Four doesn't let go.

"Not in front of the initiates," Four warns.

Eric mumbles, and Four lets go.

"I take it you two don't like each other," someone says cockily.

I turn my head.

Peter.

"What's your name?" Four asks.

"Peter," Peter replies.

Oh God.

"Well,_ Peter,_" Four says, walking up to him and crossing his arms. "If I were you, I'd learn to keep my mouth shut. Where're you from anyways? Candor?"

Peter gulps and nods.

Four turns to Eric. "One of them," he says. Eric smirks, and for a moment I see more than hate between them. Then Four laughs. "And if you don't keep your mouth shut you'll be hanging over the Chasm for your life. Understand?"

Peter nods. "Yessir."

The room is dead silent before Eric turns to Al, who's frozen in place. "What are you staring at?" he screams. "Get back to work!"

Al shifts from foot to foot, then looks at his hands, Eric, and then the punching bag. And he punches the bag.

Eric nods and looks at the rest of us. "Well? What are you waiting for?!"

* * *

><p>After training, Christina and I help put away some of the extra bags. But after doing one, she runs off.<p>

"Christina!" I call. "Where are you going?"

But she just winks and the next thing I know, the door is slammed behind her.

Then someone clears his gruff throat.

"Oh!" I squeak. "Sorry! Let me help you."

Four shakes his head. "I got it," he says, as he picks up the punching bag like it weighs nothing. He carries it over to the supply closet, and I rush to get the door for him. He nods in thanks as I open it and he tosses the bag down and walks back, his breath heavy.

"You don't have to help," he says.

"Why can't I?" I ask. Growing up, every free afternoon was spent helping out at homeless shelters and food banks, and every free moment was spent bringing in neighbors' groceries or walking their pets. And even if I am glad that my life is more exciting, I wish for that life back.

Four wipes sweat off his forehead and rolls a bag towards the closet. "Here in Dauntless we prefer to stick to Dauntless ways."

"What do you mean?" I ask, giving the bag a little shove.

"Some people refer to the term 'faction before blood.' As in, Dauntless or death. That's another favorite," Four says with a laugh. Then his expression grows serious. "And we take those terms literally."

I stand up and brush my pants off. "Alright," I say. "I can be Dauntless."

Four laughs and closes the closet door.

We walk towards the door, and he's smiling at me the whole time.

"What was this morning all about?" I blurt suddenly.

Four's face turns stoney. "With Eric? We were just talking about leadership."

"Are you trying to become a leader?" I ask, turning the corner.

Four walks next to me. "No," he says. "But every so often, Max offers the position to me."

I nod. "I'll-uh-see you later, I guess," I say.

"Wait!" he calls. "Tris!"

I turn back. "Yes?"

"About that night," he calls. "Did you like kissing me?"

I smile. "I loved every minute," I say, taking his hand and leading him into the Pit.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took so long. I've been really, really, really busy lately -_- Do you guys have to do Science Fair projects? I hate them with a burning passion...Anyways! So I ran out of ideas (and that's why this chapter is so crappy but I just felt the need to write something for you guys) and I need some! Leave a review and tell me if you want this story to continue or not! DFTBA! <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Tris POV:**

"I like to think about it like sleep away camp with guns and knives," Christina says. She pats the empty space on her bottom bunk and I sit down next to her. "Where do you live, anyways?"

"My mother's old apartment," I say. "I don't get it. I want to be just like you guys. I should be able to have your top bunk and shower in the stall next to you."

Christina shrugs. "Ask Max tonight. There's no reason for him to say no." Then she grins. "Except, of course, Four can't just walk you to your bunk and kiss you passionately after your date in the Pit in the second stage of trainin-"

I clear my throat loudly and Christina quiets. Then she sighs. "It's true though. Besides, with your apartment we can have wild parties every night."

"I thought initiates weren't allowed to go to parties," I say.

Christina rolls her eyes and rakes a hand through her short hair. "Why have rules if they're not meant to be broken? Let lose a little, Tris." She smiles. "And don't tell me you weren't walking to the Pit with Four after training earlier."

"He's supposed to be my bodyguard," I say. "Can't I speak to him?"

"Not just as a bodyguard, girl!" Christina yells. Then she lowers her voice. "Once he's gone the first step, you two will never be back to normal." She glances over me once. "Yeah, just as I suspected. You need to change your style."

Christina gets up and beckons for me to follow.

"What's wrong with this?" I ask.

Christina drags me into the bathroom. "At the very least," she says. "Get a dress or two."

"I have some of my mother's," I say.

"Tris," she asks. "You may think they fit perfectly-"

"They do."

"-but have you looked in a mirror recently?"

I don't respond.

Christina drags me over to the bathroom mirror. "Look," she says. "Everything you own is either too baggy or too tight. And you need a specific style. Not this drab, grey...selfless...mess."

I roll my eyes. "Four won't care."

"He'll say he won't," Christina says. "But he'll know you know nothing about style."

"What's wrong with that?" I ask.

Christina sighs. "Don't you want him to see you as a sexy cute deadly princess?" When she gets no reply, she drags me towards the door. "You _do_ need help."

* * *

><p>"What about a tattoo?" Christina asks. "Those are hot."<p>

I sigh and sit down. "What about this one for me?" Christina asks.

I nod. "Sure."

Christina sits down next to me. "Hmm...no. It's not me." She stands up and starts to flip through the book again.

"Wait," I say. "Hold up."

"What?" Christina asks. "You like one of these?"

"The ravens," I say. "How do you think three would look?"

Christina grins. "Perfect on you."

I stand up and take the book from Christina. She starts to go through more as I walk up to a woman in a leather vest and denim. She has black hair with grey streaks and a red-eyed black and white hawk tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Hey," I say.

She turns around when she sees me. "You're Max's granddaughter."

"And you're...Tori," I say.

She nods, smiling. "You wanted a tattoo?"

"Yes-please-" I say. "Three ravens coming down to my heart."

Tori takes the book from me and begins to take out needles. "Sit down," she says.

As I sit down, Tori turns from me and begins to shuffle through a drawer.

"Why the hawk?" I blurt out.

Tori looks at me and smiles slightly. "Never seen such a curious girl like you before," she says. Then she gets to work. "In ancient civilization, hawks represented the sun. After joining Dauntless I got over my fear of the dark. I hoped that if I had a sun on me all the time, I wouldn't be afraid anymore."

"You're afraid of the dark?" I ask.

"I used to be," Tori corrects, as she covers my tattoo. "Let that sit for a day," she adds.

"How much?" I ask, knowing that Max gave me one hundred credits.

"On the house," Tori says with a smile. "It's nice having someone to talk to."

"Tris!" Christina calls suddenly. I look over and see a man giving her a tattoo on her wrist. "Bud's giving me a heart! It's awesome!"

I smile and sit down. She should be done in a few minutes.

Then someone swings open the door and Will and Al walk in. Al sits next to me.

"Hey," he says, taking up two chairs. He breathes heavily for a minute before turning to me. "What'd you get?"

"Three ravens," I say. _For my family._

Al smiles. "That's cool. I'm thinking about getting something. Maybe a fist on my shoulder."

I nod and look back to Christina. She's pays Tori and then walks up to me. "Ready to shop?"

I nod again and stand up.

"Bye Tris," Al calls. He waves and then stands up, walking over to Will and whispering in his ear. Will looks over to Christina and me as we walk out of the parlor. Christina turns around, seeing Will, and winks.

"Ravens huh?" Christina asks.

"Yep," I say, nodding.

"Well," she says. "There are some nice shops in Dauntless. Everything is great quality and tailored excellently-if you know what you're looking for." Christina looks me over once. "And we certainly do know what we're looking for."

She drags me into a small shop and looks around. "Ah hah!" she cries out. "The petite department!"

I groan and follow after her. This is going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>"I want to live with the rest of the initiates during training," I say during dinner.<p>

Four raises his eyebrows but Max doesn't say anything.

"If I'm training with them, I want to live with them. I want to be an initiate. Not just some girl who's related to Max."

Max finally looks at me. When I start to speak again, he holds his hand out and my voice dies down.

"No," he says. Then he takes a bite of hamburger and goes back to daydreaming.

"Why not?" I persist.

"It's too dangerous," Max says.

I laugh. "You wanted me to be a mission leader of this gang who two weeks ago I'd never heard of," I say. "And you call moving in with the initiates dangerous?"

"It's different."

"How?" I ask. "Every. Single. Thing in all of Dauntless is dangerous. Tell me it's not safe to throw knives around like paper airplanes. Anything but this!"

Max looks at me.

"I just want to be normal," I say dryly. "Please. I'm sixteen; my parents and Caleb are dead. And I know you've known that possibly even earlier than I did. But at least give me a little leeway. I'm not twelve."

Max takes another bite of his burger. Four stares down at his plate. "Don't push it," he mutters.

I groan, but before I can say anything, Max looks at me. "Four's right," he grunts. "You don't understand. Some of the initiates in there have waited their whole lives to join Dauntless and this is their only opportunity."

"And here you are, randomly popping up this year," Four continues. "Some of those people-Peter included-would kill for the position. Only ten people make it in every year. That's it, only the top ten."

"And being my granddaughter," Max says. "You have a guaranteed spot in the top ten."

"What if I want to leave?" I ask.

Max sighs. "If you want to leave you can. But you'll always have a place here."

"Oh?" I ask.

Max nods.

"So even if I fail terribly, you'll still let me stay?"

He looks at me. "I know you won't fail," he says. "I know you'll make it fairly. None of the other initiates know yet, but I know you'll be just fine."

* * *

><p>"And you're sure this is what you want?" Max asks, just once more, the next day after training.<p>

I groan. "Yes, _grandfather_."

Max laughs to himself. "You're just like your mother."

I smile and pack some of my clothes into a box.

"This room will always be yours," Max says. "If the others are bothering you too much, you can always crash here." He runs his hand over the top of the dresser and rubs his fingers together to get the dust off. Then he turns to me. "And after training, this will be yours."

"Maybe I won't leave after all," I say. "Dauntless, I mean."

Max raises his eyebrows. "Oh?"

I smile. "I'm beginning to like it here." I then pick up the box I had just stuffed and stand up.

"Ready?" Max asks.

I nod. "As I'll ever be."

We walk quietly down the hallway and enter the dormitories.

Peter looks up as we walk in. "What's going on?" he asks.

"Bea-Tris is moving in with you guys," Max says.

Peter smiles to himself and throws his sweatshirt to his bunk bed. He winks at me and stretches out his arms.

I roll my eyes as Max turns to me. "You all set?" he asks.

I nod. "You can leave now," I say, waving him out. "_Byeeee_."

He laughs to himself and mutters that I'm just like Natalie once again.

"Tris!" Christina calls. She blows on her nails as I walk towards her. "Finally you're here," she says. "Do you like my nails?"

She shoves a hand with dark blue fingertips towards me and I nod my approval. "They're cute."

Christina nods. "Well, Will finally asked me out!"

We share a giggly moment before Christina tells me where I can put my stuff. "We're gonna have so much fun training," she says, right as Peter calls my name and winks at me again.

_Oh, great..._


	9. Chapter 9

**Tris POV:**

Halfway into stage one, I'm getting stronger. I can feel small muscles form on my arms, but they aren't nearly as big as anyone else's.

Next to me, Edward punches his bag like there's no tomorrow. We've been sparring for about a week now, and my ranking has stayed fairly high. Max tells me I'll do just fine in the second stage, but right now I'm ranked about twenty overall.

Finally, Eric calls Edward and Peter into the ring. _Rankings one and two_, he calls them.

But while Edward stays alert and quick on his feet, Peter always waits for his opponent to attack. They duel for a few moments before Edward sweeps Peter off his feet and we hear the sound of skin slapping the matted floor.

Four hands Peter an ice pack and goes to update the rankings. Right now, I'm in eighteen place and Peter is seventh. He curses under his breath and walks out the door, slamming it on his way out.

I roll my eyes and look towards Edward. He's also ranked first for a good reason. He came in first in fighting, and now, he's hit the bull's eye at least twice. Myra not so much. Christina tells me they're dating, and I know it's true. They hold hands outside of training everywhere and last night at dinner, the rest of us caught them kissing. We laughed it off by I still hoped that that would be me and Four.

It seems all I talk about is Four.

He doesn't talk to me like Peter or Eric and while he respects me like a human being, I wish he'd talk to me outside training.

Then Eric smiles at us. "I hope you're happy with your results. After our next lesson-knife throwing-four initiates will be forced to leave."

I should be worried, but I just have an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Max says he'll let me stay no matter my results, but I want it to be fair. I_ will_ make it into the top ten by the end of training if it's the last thing I do.

But later that night, Christina wakes me.

"Can you sleep?" she whispers.

"No," I admit back.

"Good," she says, obviously relieved. Then her voice grows shallow. "Do you smell blood?"

I sit up and soon, a screaming noise fills the dark room.

"_Oh my God_," Christina says. "Is that Edward?"

"I think so," I admit. "We've got to help him." I climb down from the top bunk and tiptoe towards Edward's bunk. Myra is sobbing on Edward's bed and I rub her back and tell her to turn the lights on as I see Edward's shadow.

"Help me," he gasps. He's clutching his face and as the lights go on, I see that a butter knife has been wedged in his right eye. I grab Edward paper towels from the bathroom and press them to his eye. "It hurts," he gasps.

"Let me help you," I mutter, dabbing them against his face.

Then Christina runs in with Max, Eric, and Four.

"Go back to bed," Max tells everyone. But he has Eric take Edward to the Infirmary. Myra runs after them.

Then I turn to Four. Everyone else has gone to bed, and I walk with Four into the hallway.

He caresses my cheek softly. "You okay?" he asks gently.

I nod. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Four smiles lightly. "Of course."

* * *

><p>The next day, Edward and Myra don't show up for training.<p>

"What happened to them?" Peter asks.

"They chose not to stay," Eric says with a slight shrug. "And now they are Factionless."

"Factionless?" I whisper.

Peter looks at me. "Yeah," he says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Dauntless keep those hillbillies under control."

I roll my eyes as Four clears his throat. "Today, we will be practicing with knives and target boards..."

_Oh joy._

"Hey Tris!" Peter calls a few minutes later, as he throws one knife after another. He may be annoying; but needless to say, he's ranked second for a good reason. "Dare me to throw one blindfolded?"

Just then, Four walks up, miraculously. "How about you try hitting the target while looking first? None of your knives are sticking."

It's true; every single one of Peter's knives hit the board backwards, and the blades all end up falling.

"Here," Four whispers, taking my hand in his and extending our arms out at the same time. He shows me the motion twice more before letting go. "Now you try," he says, smiling.

I like to think that because Four helps me personally each day, he just wants to spend time with me. But we're here for training, and I know Four wants me to succeed. But as each day grows longer and longer, I long for him to kiss me again.

I repeat the motion Four just taught me and let the knife fly out of my hand. It doesn't hit the bull's eye, but it pierces the board and stays.

I smile up to Four and he winks at me before moving on.

"How'd you do that?" Peter whispers. "Tris!" he whispers. "Tris!"

I ignore him and focus on the blades in my hand. I throw a few more, each of them inching closer towards the center of the board.

"Tris!" Peter says, louder this time. "What are you, stiff?" Then his voice quiets; the room is suddenly filled with the sound of Eric's raised voice. "It slipped?" he screeches. "Well I think you ought to go pick it up!"

"Wh-while everyone else is still throwing their knives?" Al whimpers.

Eric crosses his arms. "Why? Are you scared?"

"Of being hit by an airborne knife?" Al retorts. "Yes!"

"Everybody stop!" Eric yells. He whispers in Al's ear before shoving him towards the targets.

"Four, a little help here?" Eric asks.

Four takes a few of Will's knives and gets into the position he showed me. "Yes,_ Eric_?" he spits.

Eric ignores Four. "Now you're gonna stand there. If you flinch, you're out."

"Out?" Al whimpers.

"Well you'll either be Factionless or dead," Eric says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Al's breath is so shaky I can see it from here. Beads of sweat roll down his forehead in anxiety as Four throws knife after knife at Al.

"I think you can get a little closer," Eric says. "Maybe a little haircut or trim off the top."

Four nods.

"Stop!" I call out.

Eric puts his head in his hands. "Anyone but her," he mutters.

But I'm on a roll. "Anyone can stand up there. It doesn't prove how brave he is."

Eric talks with Four for a moment before sighing. "Al get back here."

"Why'd you do that?" Peter whispers. "You could have had to take Al's place."

"Eric wouldn't do that," I say.

Peter nods. "Try it then."

"What? No."

"Why?" he teases. "Are you scared?"

"No," I say, bolder this time. Then I roll my eyes. "Fine."

Peter looks over to Eric and Four, both of whom are engaged in other initiates. He motions for me to stand against the targets and I do. My head barely reaches the bull's eye, but Peter doesn't make a joke out of it. He merely throws a knife. It hits next to my arm and I suck in a sharp breath of air. He throws another and it inches closer to my face.

"What are you doing?" Eric asks, as Peter throws a third knife.

"Target practice," Peter says. He takes his eyes off me and I curse when I feel heat go to my ear.

I touch my left ear and warm blood touches my hand.

"Alright, we're done for the day!" Eric calls. But when I start to walk past him, he grabs my arm as well as Peter's. "We train soldiers, not rebels," he says to us.

I nod and hurry past him. "Four!" I call. "Where are you going?"

"I don't need your help today," he calls. "We didn't even use the punching bags."

"Well where are you going?" I ask.

Four smiles. "Want to go for a train ride?"

* * *

><p>"It allows more leeway for free thinking," Four admits. he just helped me on the train and I'm leaning on his shoulder. The day has started to turn to dusk and Four even put his jacket over my shoulders.<p>

I nod. "It gets kind of stuffy in the Compound," I say with a wiry laugh. "We're constantly controlled by bravery."

"And fear," Four mutters. "We're always controlled by fear."

I smile. "Are you usually like this?" I blurt out suddenly.

"Like what?" Four asks. His eyes are kinder than usual tonight, and whenever he smiles, it reaches his eyes.

I shrug. "You're usually pretty quiet."

"Do you like that?"

I shrug again. "I don't care, honestly. It's nice to hear your voice in a cheery manner."

Four suddenly looks down to my collarbone. "You got tattoos," he says, reaching out for them. I push his jacket aside and Four's fingertips melt into my ink.

"Do you like them?" I ask. "They represent my family."

"Ravens," he mutters. "I love them." Then Four pulls me closer and presses his lips to mine. He wraps his arms around my neck and a burst of excitement and wonder rushes through me. "We should get back," he mutters over my lips.

I nod, and Four lets go of me. He takes my hand and helps me up and off the train. When we get back to the Compound, he pulls me to his chest in a hug. "Goodnight," he whispers, kissing the top of my head. "Want me to walk you to your bunk?" he teases.

I laugh. "I'm good thanks."

He squeezes me once before letting go.

By now, it's past curfew and although a few Dauntless are still partying at the Club and Bar, the Pit is mostly full. I decide to walk near the Chasm. The sound of running water has always helped ideas flow through my mind. But when I start to yawn, I stand up and stretch. It's time to go back to the dormitory.

But when I get to the halls, arms grab me out of nowhere. I claw back at them, but they just hold me tighter. Then I sniff awkwardly.

Lemongrass and sage.

"Al?" I whisper.

No one responds, and a few on the hands on me have paused.

It is him.

Then the arms start again and a voice laughs.

Peter.

"Well, well, well," he says in a sing-songy voice. "Tris, never knew you'd give up so easily."

He puts a hand over my lips and I bite down on it. Peter curses, and he finally gives up and takes his hand off my mouth. But then he laughs again. "She'll be perfect," he purrs. "Max will never know we were here." In the dark, I see him lick his lips. He starts to touch me and Al's grip on me tightens.

"Feisty," Peter says with a laugh. Then he puts a piece of cloth up to my mouth.

I scream. Chloroform.

It just presses against my mouth when a voice stops Peter. The chloroform cloth falls from my mouth, but I've already inhaled it. I fall to the ground as someone fights Peter and Al.

Then he rushes to my side. "Stay awake," he says. "Tris, please."

I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"My hero," I whisper, before passing out against Four's chest.


	10. Chapter 10

**Tris POV:**

Morning doesn't come soon enough. But when it does, the sunrise greets me with a small glint of overpowering brightness that shines through the small window of the apartment. It demands my attention one second too many and I groggily give in and push a quilt off my body,

_I don't sleep with a quilt. The dormitory bunks don't have quilts and Max provided me with none anyways._

I suddenly remember that Peter and Al attacked me last night and now, where am I? I'm in an apartment that's just a little bit smaller than my own. It has black everything-black walls, black furniture. But one thing is not black. Three words are written in grey on the wall. "Fear God Alone."

I get up from my bed and feel the words with my fingers.

Then someone chuckles. I turn around just enough to see Four leaning against the bathroom doorpost. "Up already?" he jokes. Then he walks towards me. I stay silent, barely breathing as he puts his hand on my forehead then on my cheek. "Feeling okay?"

I nod. "Last night was such a blur. What-"

"Al, Peter, and Drew tried to knock you out," Four says.

"Drew?" I ask. "I only remember two."

"He left early," Four says. "I caught him when he was running out of the Pit. He said Peter and Al were trying to rape you and he didn't want to be a part of it because Max would find out and kick him out of Dauntless."

I sit back down on Four's bed and look down at my hands. Folding them together, I struggle to find something to do to distract me from wanting to know more about last night.

Then Four clears his throat. "Training starts in half an hour. If you get yourself together, we should be able to run by the Pit and grab a bite to eat before training." He looks at me before biting his lip and grabbing a shirt off his dresser. "It's the smallest I have, and I thought you might need one."

"Thanks," I say. I nod and stand up awkwardly.

Four looks over me from head to toe. "Are you doing okay? I noticed your ribs were bruised." He blushes a bit and I love it a lot.

"They're fine," I lie. They hurt terribly. "Although it hurts to breath."

Four shakes his head. "Can't help you there," he says, crossing his arms and smiling slightly.

"Peter would probably throw a party if I stopped breathing," I joke.

Four smiles a bit more. "Well, I'd only go if there was cake."

I smirk. "I've been here for a few weeks and still have no idea why everyone raves about it."

"Well as soon as you change you've got to try some," Four says.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me," I say. "Sorry. Coming through. Right behind you. Whoops! Sorry! Excuse me!"<p>

Four looks at me and shakes his head, laughing. "You've been here for two weeks and still sound nothing like the Dauntless." Then he sighs. "Here," he says. He shoves past a middle aged man with a musky odor and a whiskey-smelling breath and picks up two trays with muffins and eggs on them.

"Thanks," I say. "Sorry, I'm just used to-"

"Yeah," Four says nervously. "I grew up that way too." He scratches the back of his neck eagerly before leading me toward Max's table.

It's the same as every morning, except today, someone totally different is talking to Max. Someone Max doesn't usually talk to.

"Dauntless leadership is given to the first and second ranked initiates each year. They can take it or leave it," Max says. "Of course, Beatrice will be offered it this year, but I'm sure the second position will be given to someone with leadership nearly as good as her. She'll probably be ranked first anyways."

"Of course sir," Peter says.

He continues to talk, but I stop listening immediately. I freeze in my steps. "What's he doing here?" I whisper to Four.

Four shrugs. "I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Max suddenly looks at me. "Tris," he greets. "Take a seat. I've just been talking with Peter about leadership around here in Dauntless."

I gulp to myself and bite my lip, sitting down next to Max. But as soon as I start to bite into my muffin, he stops me.

"Is that a...bruise...on your cheek?"

I shrug. "Must've got it from fighting."

"Fighting stopped yesterday," Max says. "This wasn't there yesterday."

I realize that Peter or Al must have given me the bruise. Put Peter's right there. He draws a line over his neck with his finger, not taking his eyes off mine once. I quake a bit in my chair before realizing that Peter is right. If I rat him out now, he'll attack me later tonight again and this time something worse could happen.

"I-I must have whacked myself in my sleep," I cover up.

Max stares at it before sighing. "Be more careful next time, Beatrice," he says tiredly, before getting up and getting more eggs.

Peter nods at me before getting up and following Max.

Four opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Al walks up to the table. He takes Max's seat and takes heavy, strained, slow breaths for a minute before turning to me. "Hey Tris-"

I stand up. "Never come near me again," I say slowly.

"Tris-"

"I knew you were there last night. Don't think I'm stupid. I know you betrayed me," I say quietly. Maybe if no one else hears it, no one will notice that my voice is shaky. "And if you ever come near me again, I _will_ kill you."

Al looks down for a minute, and I take it as the right time to walk away. I push my chair in, discard my tray, and rush out of the Pit.

But I don't hear it slam. Four catches it and runs after me. He comes to my side and walks with me. "Tris," he starts, but doesn't finish.

I stare at the ground and slow down. "I just can't," I say. A tear falls down my cheek and more follow. I'd rather drown in my tears than face Al right now. He betrayed me. He tried to kill me. I trusted him and he tried to, or worse, attempted to help Peter rape me. "I can't do it."

I stop walking and slump against the wall, letting the tears fall. Then I feel shoulders around me. Four is hugging me.

"Don't cry," he says. "Once you cry you won't be able to stop and we'll never make it to training. If you don't go, Peter and Al will know that you can be messed with, and they'll continue to mess with you. Prove them wrong and keep your chin up."

Suddenly, Four's lips are against mine. I wrap my shoulders around him and pull back, smiling. "Come on," I say, taking his hand. "Or we'll never make it to training."

* * *

><p>"So what happened?" Christina asks at dinner. Four insisted, with Uriah's eager approval, that I try the chocolate cake, but while my plate is filled with sweets, Christina's is filled with salad. She told me she needed to watch her figure if she was going to go out with Will, but I don't see why. Her body is model perfect, thin, lean, and tall.<p>

I shrug. "I was walking to the dorms when Peter and Al attacked me."

"No way!" Christina exclaims, her fork up in the air and her elbows eagerly on the table. "Did they try to, you know?"

Another shrug. "Four says that's what they were going to do."

"Four?"

I blush a bit and bite my lip. "He saved me."

"Tris!" Christina yells. "And you're just telling me now?"

I shrug, but before I can respond, Christina grins showing her perfect white teeth. "Well, tell me all the details."

"He just," I start. "I don't know. Beat up Peter and Al and then brought me to his room and that's where I spent the night."

Christina, as if it's even possible, leans closer to me.

"You know," I say, through a bite of chocolate cake. "This is really good."

"Are you kidding me?" Christina says.

I shake my head and lick my fork to make a point.

Then someone crashes thunderously into the seat next to me.

"You mean you're just now realizing that?" Uriah asks, shocked.

I shrug. "I've been here for about three weeks and this is the first taste of it I've had. I have to admit, it is pretty good."

Uriah looks at me like I have two heads before turning his attention back to his tray. I take a good look at what's on it and gape at it.

"What?" Uriah asks.

"You can feed a small army with that," I say with a slight laugh.

Uriah looks at me, his expression straight and serious. "That's what Dauntless intends to do."

Before I can say a remark back, Christina gapes as well. "Uriah!" she exclaims. "Do you know how many calories are in that-that mountain?"

Uriah laughs for a minute. "I'm a man. I need my cake calories."

* * *

><p>I can't sleep. "Christina?" I whisper.<p>

"What?"

"I was just checking if you were awake," I whisper from the top bunk.

"I am," she says back just as quietly.

"I'm going to the water fountain," I say. Then I gasp. "Where's Al?"

"What do you mean?"

"His bunk is empty."

Christina shrugs. "Maybe he needed a drink as well."

I groan. "I hope not," I whisper, but Christina doesn't respond. She must be asleep.

I tiptoe out of the dormitory but don't go to the fountain just yet. I take one look past the hallway and decide to go to the Chasm to think.

"Hey," Four says. He runs up to me and puts his hand up in mine, looking me directly in the eyes. "You doing okay?"

I nod.

"Tris."

I shake my head and look down to my feet. "I'm not, okay? I don't want to be okay anymore. I just can't."

"Does Max know yet?"

"Is it best if he doesn't?" I say. "I saw Drew talk to him before dinner, but that's all I know."

Four shrugs. "Peter will most likely want to get revenge, but Al will most likely-"

Before Four can finish, a scream fills the air and Christina runs out of the dorms.

"What was that?" she asks. Then she gasps and runs into the Pit. "Al!" she screams. "Tris, Al just jumped!"

I take one look into the Pit before looking up at Four and crying into his chest.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>AN Hello my peeps! Sorry I haven't updated in an eternity (more like a week) but it's Spring Break and my Grandpa just died on Saturday, so I've just been lying around, eating jellybeans (the black licorice ones were Grandpa's favorite), crying********, listening to the _Frozen_ soundtrack over and over (Let It Go is ma jam) and watching way too many episodes of The Bachelor (Juan Pablo is a jerkface). But I finally mustered up the energy to write this so I hope you guys like(d) it!****


	11. Chapter 11

**Tris POV:**

"Why don't you come with me to my apartment?" Four asks. He rubs my back comfortingly and I'm too shaken to decline.

Our footsteps pound the concrete floors of the halls and echo into the darkness. Four finally takes us up to a door and unlocks it, pushing it open. The first words that hit me are "Fear God Alone," and they stare back at me in the darkness like they are glowing eyes in a forest.

Next to me, Four kicks his shoes off and walks up to his bed. He throws a few quilts over it before promptly diving onto the couch with a single blanket wrapped around him. I smile and gently tuck a pillow under his head before kissing the top of his forehead, kicking off my shoes, and getting under the quilts.

But I jolt up not even three hours later. "Four," I whisper.

He sits up. "You need something?"

"No," I say. "I just can't sleep."

"Nightmares?"

I nod. "If I'm annoying you, I can always go back to the dorm-"

"No," Four says. "Stay here. Please. I like the company." His voice begins to sound pleading, so I get up and sit next to him. Four puts his blanket over both of us and I rest my head on his shoulder. Four puts his arm over my shoulder and I fall asleep just like this.

* * *

><p>"Did you ever find out why Al jumped?" Eric asks.<p>

I stare at my toast as Max shakes his head. "It was totally out of the blue."

I want to say that no, Max, it was most certainly not out of the blue, and Al jumped because he was a coward but Four shoots me a look that says I better keep my mouth shut. So I take a bite of my toast and start to daydream as Max and Eric talk about funeral plans.

Then I hear them say that Dauntless will be hosting it. "What about his parents? Don't you think you should at least contact them?"

"There's one day we allow that to happen," Max says. "Visiting Day. You barely missed it this year, but-"

"It wouldn't have mattered anyways," I say. "I've got no one left to visit me."

Max looks at me sadly before nodding. "Anyways, we've got some three hundred more days left until Visiting Day again and we won't want to hold on to Al's rotting corpse for that long."

I clutch Four's hand under the table as Max briefly explains that today there will be a small service for Al before they incinerate his body tonight.

"We better get to training," Four says suddenly.

"Thank you," I mouth, as we stand up and walk out of the Pit.

Four smiles. "No problem. I don't like funerals anyways."

"Why?" I ask.

Four stiffens. "My mother "died" when I was little."

"What do you mean?"

Four shakes his head. "It doesn't matter," he says. "We'll be late if we don't hurry."

He takes my hand and pulls me to the Training Room. But I know he was looking for an excuse not to tell me. And if whatever he's not telling me is that bad, I won't make him tell me.

But as we turn the corner, a guy slams into us. "Out of my way," he grunts. "People got places to go."

I crash into him and he pushes me off him. Four catches me before I fall to the ground.

"Thanks," I tell Four. The guy in front of us gets up and groans. "Watch where you're goin'."

"Hey," I say. "You were the one who ran into us." I put my hands on my hips, but when I look at him, I narrow my eyes. "Eric."

He slicks back his greasy black hair and looks me over. "Tris," he says. "Forgive me. Can I walk you to training?"

"Actually," I say. "That's what Four was doing."

Eric shoots a sly look towards Four. "Oh, really."

* * *

><p>"Uriah," Four calls. "Follow me."<p>

Uriah gets up, takes one look at Marlene-who smiles weakly at him-before following after Four.

"Where'd you go last night?" Christina whispers, once Four and Uriah are gone. "I didn't see you in your bunk this morning or at breakfast."

I look down and straighten out my shirt. "Four," I say slowly, with a permanent smile. "Let me spend the night at his place."

Christina freaks out silently, knowing that Eric is on the other side of the room, watching us to make sure no one is stabbed by a butter knife.

"What?" I whisper.

She grins at me. "He. Let. You. Stay. At. His. Place."

"Is there something wrong with that?" I ask.

Christina's face goes absurdly ghastly. "No! Everything about it is great! I'm just surprised."

"At what? That he's a gentleman and not a pervert?"

Christina sighs. "It's just...he's never been with anyone before. The whole time he's been here."

I shrug. "Maybe he was waiting for the right person to come along."

Christina elbows me and grins. "And I think he's found that person."

I blush profoundly as Uriah walks back into the room. He gets in his chair next to Marlene and slouches.

"What do you think they're doing?" Christina asks.

I shrug, then Four walks into the room. He looks over everyone, then sets his eyes on me. "Tris," he says. "Come with me."

I get up and Christina gives me a thumbs-up sign as Four holds the door open for me. He leads me into a room with a chair similar to ones at dental offices.

"What are you going to make me do?" I whisper.

Four sighs. "Get on the chair."

"Why?" I ask. "What's going on?"

"We're going to test your fears."

I back away from the chair, then realize that it's going to happen whether I want it or not. So I slide onto the chair.

Four brushes my hair away from my neck, leaving a tingling feeling where his fingers were. Then he inserts a needle. "The serum will activate in one minute. Try to stay calm..."

_I awake in a field similar to the ones that Caleb and I would go to to help farmers with their crops as children. But the buildings are far away and as I try to walk towards them, my back is poked and prodded. I turn around and crows get in my hair and nip at every part of me. I start to scream, then realize that there were no crows in the fields._

_"This isn't real," I mutter. Then I say it louder. "This isn't real!" I scream at the crows. One by one, they start to disappear._

Then I wake up in the dental chair.

"Wow," Four breathes.

I raise my eyebrows. "Are the crows gone?"

Four chuckles. "You knew they weren't real. They are gone from your imagination."

I rub my arms to make the goosebumps go away. "How long was I in there? Twenty minutes? Thirty?"

Four looks at me. "Three minutes and thirty-three seconds. Three times faster than the other initiates." He whistles low. "Watch yourself. The leaders will think you're too good for Dauntless." He clicks a button on his screen and looks at me. "I deleted your simulation. You're welcome."

"Why?" I ask, then I wish to take it back immediately. I shake my head. "Nothing makes sense here. Forget anything I said."

Four opens the door. "Watch yourself," he repeats, before holding the door open for me and calling another initiate into the room.

* * *

><p>After training, Eric calls after me. I look back. "What do you want?"<p>

He crosses his arms. "Why do you automatically think that I don't have good intentions?"

"I know what Max expects of us," I say slowly. "But it's not going to happen, okay?"

Eric looks at me and crosses his arms. "Look, _princess_, I've tried being nice. I pitied you for your family's death. I pitied you because you were stuck with Four."

I give him a weird look, but he doesn't stop. "But there comes a point where you can't keep shoving us all away. Dauntless is your home now. So deal with it. Max wants us to be together, so deal with it." Eric leans in to kiss me, but I move my mouth away just in time and rush out of the Training Room, leaving Eric to stunned to run after me.

But as I'm running out of the Training Room, I bump into someone.

"Sorry!" I squeak, as I slam into the ground.

Uriah's laugh comforts me as he helps me up. "No problem," he says with a smile. Then he looks at me. "You look spooked. What's the matter? The fear simulations? Al's death? You know what? I can lift your mood. Come on."

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Zip lining," he says. "I take it you liked it the last time we went?"

I nod eagerly. "Let's go."

He takes my hand and we run out of the Compound and into the breeze.

"Yo!" Zeke calls. "I was wondering if you were coming!" Then he sees me. "Tris!" he yells over the wind. "Glad to see you!"

I smile. My dad used to call the people like the Dauntless 'hooligans,' but some of them are much more than that. Some of them are some of the nicest people I've ever meant.

For the first time in my life, I don't wish to go back. Sure, I miss my family, but I love the thrill of Dauntless.

I love the thrill of us jumping on and off the trains, riding up to the hundredth floor of the Hancock building, and being strapped to the black cut-out bags that will let us slide down Chicago.

And as I'm being strapped now and given the okay to go down the zip line, Zeke pushes me and I can let go of all my troubles.

I can allow myself to feel free of Al, Peter and Drew. Feel free of Eric. Free of cowardice and hate, despair and fake love.

I can allow myself to feel as free as the ravens that fly to my heart and remind me of the life I left behind when Max took me to Dauntless.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Thanks for all the support guys [and gals]! My mom is pretty shaken by her dad's death, but I think we're coping pretty well. Also, a bunch of my friends' mothers have recently passed away, so (not to be prejudice) if you have a divine being that you pray to, please keep their families in your prayers. Thanks! Also, you should leave a review or hit that follow and/or favorite button because that's sometimes fun to do! :) DFTBA!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Tris POV:**

"Thanks," I say. "I really needed that."

Uriah looks at me sadly. "Sorry about Al. It was just so sudden-" His voice falls flat when he sees my face. "What? Is there something I'm missing?"

I point to the bruise on my face. "See this? This is from Al. He and Peter _mauled_ me two nights ago and Four saved me. Then Al tried to approach me and I wouldn't let him come near me. So he was a coward and jumped."

Uriah's face goes blank as I look at him. "_Don't_ tell anyone. Max thinks it's an accident and I don't want to give him another reason to pity me."

He nods. "I won't, I swear. Are you going to his funeral later?"

I shrug. "If I feel like it." Uriah bites his lip and hugs me tightly. I even allow myself to cry into his chest.

A few hours later, I peek my head into the Pit. Eric is leading Dauntless in chanting Al's name. I can't take it. He's calling Al "brave" and "truly a fine example of what a Dauntless member should be." But the Dauntless aren't cowardice. Al didn't even come close to the definition of Dauntless.

I slam the door shut but Al's name is still bouncing off the walls. It's making me crazy. I stumble back and start to run in the opposite direction of the Pit.

"Going somewhere?" a voice asks.

I so desperately wish for it to be Four who asks that. I want to rush into his arms and allow myself to fall apart.

But Max crosses his arms and looks at me with a concerned expression. "Beatrice."

I freeze in my footsteps. "Max," I say. "Just let me be alone."

"Is something wrong?"

I shake my head as Max approaches me slowly. "You've been acting very different these past few days. Wanting to move into the initiate dorms, getting a bruise on your cheek when you are perfectly capable to defending-"

"_It's a bruise_."

Max doesn't say anything. "And I was told Al had something to do with the incident that took place on Wednesday night."

"What incident?" I ask.

"Someone was nearly raped, I was told."

I bump back into the wall. "I wouldn't know," I say with a shrug. Then I snort. "You're the one that everyone trusts around here."

Max looks at me for a minute before his face falls apart. The skin around his eyes crinkles and I finally see that he's been through more than most people have. "Beatrice," he whispers. "Was that you who was attacked?"

I shake my head no against the wall before bursting down the hallway.

"Four!" I scream, when I get to his door. "Let me in!"

The door swings open immediately and I fall into his arms from the pressure I put leaning into the wall.

"Tris," he says with a smile. "It was open. You're welcome to come in whenever you want to."

I smile back as Four leads me into his apartment. "Why the "Fear God Alone"?" I blurt out suddenly, all thoughts gone immediately.

Four runs a hand over his short hair, spiking it up abruptly. "Everyone has fears," he says. "I only want to fear the unknown."

He moves in to kiss me but I place my hand over his heart. My long fingertips trail like a sentence that cannot be finished. "What's your real name?" I ask suddenly.

"All these questions," Four says. "And only one answer. Come with me." He takes my hand off his heart and slips it into his and for some reason, they fit perfectly against each other. We walk out of the apartment, and into the Training Room.

Four brushes a few strands of hair aside and inserts a needle into my neck. I wince slightly. He holds another one out of me and asks me to insert the serum into his neck.

"Are you sure?" I stammer out.

Four nods and I stand on my tiptoes and shakily push the needle into his neck. "Ready?" he asks, not once wincing at my touch.

"Yes," I whisper. But it doesn't sound like it. But before I know what's happening, Four takes my hand in his and

* * *

><p><strong>Four POV:<strong>

we're standing on top of the Hancock building.

Beside me, Tris is as confident as ever. She hears my shaky breathing and squeezes my hand gently. "It's okay," she whispers. "We just have to get out of here."

"There is no way," my faltering voice mumbles out. "We have to jump."

"Okay," Tris says. "On three?"

"No," I mutter. "Now or I'll never do it."

Tris sighs as I tug on her hand and we're falling and falling

and then in a box.

Tris glances up at me. "Claustrophobia?

I nod, my breath shallow and nervous. I nod as the sides close in and Tris uses her brute force to push them back. She's not that strong, but she jams nails and screws, nuts and bolts, into the edges and corners.

Soon, the box disappears and I'm back in my old house

* * *

><p><strong>Tris POV:<strong>

and we're back in a house just like my old one. I glance up at Four, but he just stares in front of us. A man walks down the stairs.

"Mr. Eaton," I greet, but Four holds me back. "Stay back," Four whispers.

Mr. Eaton takes his belt off and starts to beat the chair in front of him. He grins and turns to Four. But before he can beat him, I step in front of him. More Marcus Eatons appear and Four starts to grab their belts, but they have more. Four starts to attack them and I punch one in front of me. He grunts and the realization comes to me.

"You're Tobias Eaton," I murmur. Four pulls me against his waist and smiles. "It's nice to hear my old name again," he whispers as the scene in front of us disappears and a woman appears in front of us. Four takes his hand off of me and walks towards a table. He takes a pistol off of it and points it at the woman in the chair in front of us.

"My final fear," he says aloud. Then he sighs. "I can't kill her. I never-" he pauses. "I have to kill her to get out of this."

"Can't you just kill yourself?" I ask.

Four shakes his head. "That's what a Divergent would do. To go unnoticed, I must kill this woman."

"Who is she?" I ask, circling around her.

Four shrugs, and cocks his gun. "A stranger. An innocent, faceless woman. I've always had a problem with killing the innocent," he mutters quietly. Then he takes a deep breath, points his gun, looks away, and pulls the trigger.

My world goes black and I wake up next to him. "Four," I whisper. "What just happened?"

"Tobias," he says. "My name is Tobias. I like hearing it."

"Tobias," I try. I like it. I like being connected to his past. I remember Mr. Eaton; just a month ago he was there at my family's funeral. He insisted on hosting the reception, paying the funeral directors, and buying the land plot at the cemetery. But now I know that there is more to him than a selfless, well-meaning man. Tobias smiles and takes my hand. We walk out of the room and into the hallways, but when we see Eric and Max talking and walking, we rush into the Pit. Tobias takes me down to the Chasm rocks and we sit there for a minute.

Tobias brings my lips to his instantaneously. "I've been waiting to kiss you all day," he whispers, gently caressing my cheek. He holds me close to him with his other hand and I lean into him.

Then the voices get closer. "I don't have all day, Max," a voice-which I register as Eric's-says sternly as they walk towards us. Tobias looks up to the railing above us then pushes me back. "They're up there," he says quietly, his voice now distressed.

"Alright," Max says. His voice echoes all around the Pit and he's clearly stressed. "But be careful with her."

"She's your granddaughter," Eric says. "I wouldn't lay a finger on her normally."

"If you hurt her you're dead," Max hisses. "Play nice. I like my family alive." He sighs loudly and when I peer up, Eric's expression softens. "I understand," he says. Max nods and turns on his heels. Eric follows after him and Tobias helps me up.

"It should be safe now," he says. Then he looks at me and kisses me firmly, his fingers digging into my bony shoulders. "I don't know what they were talking about," he says, "But I care for you more than I've ever cared for a person before and I would fight for you than have you be with Eric."

I smile at him. "Thanks Tobias. That really means a lot."

He lessens his grip on me and takes my hand. "Come," he says. "You can spend the night with me."


	13. Chapter 13

**Tris POV:**

"Don't _honey_ me," I grumble. "I'm not your honey."

Eric flinches back and for the first time, his stone-cold expression wilts. I almost feel bad, but I don't take the words back. "Where's Four?" I ask. "Why isn't he here?"

"He was wanted in the Control Room," Eric says, his gaze going back to it's frozen expression.

I don't say anything more, but I hope Eric won't bring up last night. "Are we done here?"

He shrugs. "You're free to go."

"Why aren't you bossing me around?" I blurt out abruptly. I cross my arms and glare into his eyes.

His shoulders rise up again and I start to walk towards the door. "Have I mentioned how good your results are?" Eric asks. He lets out a low whistle. "Three minutes and thirty-two seconds."

I smile nervously at him. "I've been working on them." He smiles back, but his is bigger and bolder than mine. He takes my hand in his and brushes his lips against it lightly before walking out the door.

I grasp my hand and stumble up to the wall, shocked and irritated at Eric._ So this is what he and Max were talking about last night._ I shake the thought out of my head and straighten my shirt before walking out of the simulation room. The door slams behind me and the floor echoes my footsteps louder and louder with each distressed step I take.

"Tris-" Christina starts, but I walk past her and the rest of the initiates before she can continue. "I'm really not in the mood," I say.

"What's wrong?" she asks. I don't slow my pace, instead Christina catches up to me. We walk out of the Training Room and into the hallway.

"Tris," Christina repeats. She looks at me worriedly.

"Something's wrong," I say. "Eric's been strangely nice to me these past few days, and today he kissed my hand."

Christina gasps. "Four," she says. "What are you going to tell Four?"

"I'm not going to tell him anything," I say. "I'm going to ask Max what this is all about."

Christina crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows at me. "You mean you wouldn't tell Four-"

"Tell me what?" an all-too-familiar voice asks.

I whip my head around, my ponytail flying up in the air and hitting my neck like the reality that smacks me harder than ever before. "Nothing," I say. "Nothing happened."

"Tris," he says gently. He puts his arm on my shoulder and I so desperately want to run into his shoulders and drown in my thoughts. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing," I repeat, to myself more than anyone else. "Nothing happened."

"Well," Christina says awkwardly. "I'm just gonna go." She puts her hands behind her back and clears her throat before walking back to the Training Room.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?" Tobias asks. He puts his free hand on my chin and gently tugs it up to face him.

"Eric might have kissed my hand," I say. "It may not seem like a huge deal, but he's been acting strangely nice and-"

"And what?"

"I have a feeling that this is what Max and Eric were talking about last night."

Tobias pulls me into his arms and hugs me tightly. "I never liked Eric," he admits softly. "And we're going to find a way to deal with him once and for all."

* * *

><p>"What have you done?" I ask, bursting into his office. "Max I'm talking to you."<p>

"And I'm talking to you," his secretary says from behind me. "You can't burst in on Max. He's in a meeting with Eric-"

But I don't hear the rest of it. And I don't care. I walk towards him and shut the door, but on the other side of him is Eric. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"We're discussing private information," Max says, closing a binder on his desk. "What can I do for you?" He tries to remain calm, I can hear the restraint in his voice, but I can also hear the distress. If I had come five minutes later, maybe it would have been better. But it's too late now.

"Would it be better if I left?" Eric's shaky voice asks. But as soon as he says it, Max shakes his head. "It might be better if you both heard this."

"Heard what?" I ask. "I'm just asking why-" my voice pauses when my eyes glance at Max's desk. "What the hell? Is this my mother's scrapbook?" I pick it up and flip through the few family pictures that my mom put into a book when Caleb and I were five. She added to it every year. Every year except this one.

"I can explain Beatrice," Max says. But when I look behind me, there is a bunch of boxes that are labeled "Natalie and Family." I open one up and find my mother's jewelry and her grey scarves. I pick one up and look at Max. "Why the hell are these here?"

I look to Max and he gets up and puts a hand on my shoulder. I push it off. "I'm tired of this nonsense. What are you two planning?"

"I'm getting old, you know," Max says. I roll my eyes but he looks at me seriously. "And Eric needs to train a new leader. I originally planned for you to go on missions, but you would be a great gang leader."

"That's it?" I ask. "Then why did Eric kiss my hand?"

Max glares at Eric for a second then sighs and turns to me. "Whatever Eric does is his decision. I take no responsibility."

"What if I don't want to become a leader?" I say. "I hear there's a good tattoo parlor that is hiring."

"Then you can do that," Max responds, sitting down. "But you'd be a great leader. Know that before you do anything else."

"Tris," Eric says. "I'm really, really sorry. I just wanted to-"

"I don't want to hear it," I say. "I need to focus on training." _And Four_, I silently think to myself with a smug grin on my face.

"Ah," Max says. "A wise decision Beatrice."

"Are you going to tell me why you have my family's belongings?"

"I thought you were going to move back into your apartment after training," Max says. "I know you'll pass it just fine, but I just wanted to bring all your family's stuff."

"I don't want to get rid of it," I say. "Not now, not ever. But I also want to move on. Take what you want but I want my mother's stuff."

Max nods. He looks at Eric. "We'll just leave the boxes her for now then. You and Tris can go to dinner."

"And you sir?" Eric asks.

"Bring me a burger," Max says.

Eric opens Max's door for me and I whisper a thank you in return. "I'm really sorry," I say. "I didn't mean to blame you or put pressure on you or-"

"It's fine," Eric says cockily. He brushes a piece of his greasy hair from his face. "I shouldn't have tried anything." When I don't respond, he looks at me. "You should really consider Max's offer. I'd train you to be Dauntless' best leader. Besides," he says. "We would work side by side."

I so desperately want to yell in his face and tell him that there's no chance I'd work with him, but I can't bring myself to do it. I push open the doors to the Pit and walk towards the food counter. I grab two trays, but Eric almost stops me. "I can bring Max's tray to him."

"I'll do it," I say, then turn around before he can say anything else. I walk out of the Pit and hear footsteps behind me.

"Is there something I did to annoy you?" Eric asks, catching up to me. I shake my head, but Eric won't buy it. "Tris," he begs.

"Why are you obsessed with me?" I ask. "What's the matter with you?"

"I like you, Tris," he says. "I'm not going to deny it. I liked your sexy, luring, mysterious self ever since you came here."

I back up against the wall. "No," I say. "No you can't."

"Why not?" His voice falters, and I almost want to take back what I say. So I cover it up with a lie. "I have to focus on training," I say.

"Oh," Eric says. "I'll just go I guess."

I sigh as Eric walks away, but as I start to walk towards Max's office, I bump into the one person I've been dying to see. "Tobias," I whisper.

"What was that back there?" he asks. "You sounded distressed."

"I was-am," I quickly correct. "I'll see you later, okay?"

His brow crinkles. "Alright," he says. "Who's the second tray for?"

"Max," I say. Tobias nods and kisses my cheek, walking towards the Pit.

When I get to Max's office, his secretary lets me in this time. "I have your burger," I say. "Can I sit with you?"

He pushes his papers aside and nods. "I'd be honored if you did Beatrice."

I slide his burger over to him and sit down, biting down into mine. "This is delicious," I say. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to my grandmother?"

"She left Dauntless," Max says sadly. "She said we didn't respect her values so she went to Erudite."

"Erudite?"

"She grew up there," Max says. "She always admired Jeanine and now has replaced Jeanine."

"So that's why you hate the Erudite?"

Max shakes his head and takes a bite out of his burger. "I hate them because they killed my family." He looks at me briefly before bursting into tears.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**DFTBA! If you liked this chapter, feel free to leave a review because that's fun to do! And if you didn't, don't leave flames but how I can to better! I'm on summer break (is anyone else?) and I have more time to write :) **

****Oooh and what do you guys think of Suki Waterhouse as Marlene? And does anyone know who Edgar is? Jonny Weston is playing him, and I have know idea who he is but he's cute hehehe... Who else saw TFIOS? If you haven't and are planning to, bring your fangirl squeals and tissues!****

****Also: I just published a UriahxMarlene (do they have a ship name?) fanfic and I would really love, love, love it if you guys checked it out and gave me some feedback! I'm really liking this one-shot in particular :)****


	14. Chapter 14

**Tris POV:**

"I want vengeance," Max says. "I want to take back the blood they have on their hands as a result of our family's death. What you don't understand, Beatrice, is that Natalie was my pride. She was my only daughter. She was the one I wanted to have rule Dauntless."

"Max," I say quietly. "The world is not a wish-granting factory."

"I know," he says back, just as softly. "But I sometimes like to pretend it is." He stands up and walks towards a mahogany desk that is pushed up against the wall and picks up a picture frame. "Sometimes I like to pretend that we all get what we want. Sometimes I like to pretend that my wife and I were still together. That my daughter and her husband and their son were still alive. That my granddaughter will always listen to me. That Jeanine Matthews never was a part of this world."

Max hands me the picture in his hand and watches as I stare intently at it. "I've seen this picture before," I say. "I've seen it in my apartment."

"Yes," Max says. "A copy of it does sit in your apartment. Natalie gave it to me the week before you left for Abnegation."

"You didn't like my parents' decision to move to Abnegation," I say, narrowing my eyes.

"It's a petty excuse of a happy town," he says with a shrug. "Besides, it was too rural. Too far away." Max looks away and I can sense the pain overcoming him. "I was too late. Some of my guards out by the city fence saw the accident, but they were dead by the time I arrived."

I bite my lip. "Don't blame yourself," I say, for the first time in what seems like ages. "You did the best you could."

And Max_ did_ do the best he could. I saw him after the funeral talking to my mother._ It must have been hard to lose his only daughter_, I think to myself.

Later that night, Christina won't stop talking. "And he just admitted his feelings toward you?" she asks, gaping. "Like, to your face? Directly?"

I nod and pick at my fingernail absentmindedly. Christina awkwardly clears her throat. "Well," she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Tell me more."

I shrug. "I don't like him," I whisper. "There's just something about him that I don't like. Like I can't trust him." I close my eyes and sigh. "I don't want to be with him. I want to be with Four."

Christina sighs loudly. "You and Four are so cute. He towers over you. It's adorable."

I giggle quietly. "He is kind of protective." Christina laughs. "Definitely," she says. Then she fluffs her pillow and yawns. "Night."

"Night," I whisper back, glad that this hectic day is over.

* * *

><p>Tobias cracks his knuckles, one at a time. One crack, two crack, three crack, four. He folds his arms together and spreads his legs out a bit. "Today will be your last day of fear simulations. You all will have two days until we will start the third stage of training and in a week we will have the final test and the top ten initiates will become members. The rest of you will have to leave, so spend your time here wisely."<p>

Tobias winks at me before turning back to the others. "Shall we get to work?" He glances over everyone before clearing his throat. "Tris, you're up first."

He starts to walk towards the set of doors that lead to the simulation room and motions for me to follow. "Thanks," I say briefly, as he holds the door open for me.

"How you doing?" he asks. "I know last night was..."

"Full of surprises," I offer. Tobias nods grimly and I slip into the chair and lie down on it. A nervous laugh slips out of my mouth. "That's for sure."

"You ready?" Tobias looks at me and I nod. "Where's Eric today?" As soon as I say it, I recall that it was a sore subject last night and immediately wish to take it back.

"He's straightening out something in the Pit," Tobias says stiffly. "Apparently one of the shops got broken into last night." He fiddles with the cords attached to the computer screen and my brow crinkles. "What's wrong?" I ask. I lay my hand on his gently and he looks at me with his deep blue eyes. "Why didn't you come to my apartment last night?"

I sigh and scoot up in the chair. "Sorry," I say. "I was just really tired."

"From spending the day with Eric?" Tobias asks. "You know I don't like you hanging out with him."

"We weren't "hanging out"," I say. "And you know I don't like following him around, but Max wants us to. He told me last night that he wants me to be a leader when he retires."

"Whatever," Tobias dismisses with a grumble in his voice. He holds up the needle and looks at me. "You ready?"

I nod briefly, and Tobias holds the needle up to my neck. It pierces my skin and he looks into my eyes. "Be brave," he says, before everything fades away.

This time I wake up in a room with mirrors. Mirrors that are everywhere; on the ceiling, on the walls, hanging on the door. I scoot off the bed I'm sitting on and run my hand over one of the mirrors.

Suddenly, one of the mirrors moves and the door creaks open. Eric walks in and pushes me onto the bed rather aggressively. "Kiss me," he growls.

A meager cry escapes from my lips and Eric growls. He starts to kiss my neck and I push him away. But my small arms are no match for his toned biceps. He pushes me down and I finally stop struggling. I slam my head against the pillow below my head and start to cry. I cry and cry and cry and but don't wake up. Eric lifts his head up to catch his breath and my breaths waver as I do the unthinkable: I slam my knee into his chest. Eric falls back off the bed and I hold my forearm up to his throat.

"Stay away from me," I growl, before falling to the floor myself and crying my eyes out. A few minutes later, I wake up from the simulation.

"What was that?" Tobias asks angrily.

I scoot back from him and feel a tear run down my cheek. "Why are you so protective of me?" I shoot back.

"Why can't I be?" he growls, in the same tone as Eric. Then his expression wilts as he sees my terrified face. Tobias rubs the back of his head nervously. "Are you going to tell me what that was?" he asks again, his voice softer this time.

I shrug. "Isn't this what you wanted me to be?"

"You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you're small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you're wrong."

He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at the point of contact, like he's transmitting electricity through his skin.

"My _first_ instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press." he says, his fingers squeezing at the word _break_. My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.

His dark eyes lifting to mine, he adds, "But I resist it."

"Why..." I swallow hard. "Why is that your first instinct?"

"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up. I've seen it. It's fascinating." He releases me but doesn't pull away, his hand grazing my jaw, my neck. "Sometimes I just want to see it again. Want to see you awake."

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here?" he asks. "It's past initiate curfew." I want to fall over in astonishment at Tobias. He has his body leaned sexily against the doorpost and even though it's past midnight, I'm not tired of seeing him.<p>

"I couldn't sleep." I smile and look down at him. "Besides, I thought I'd make up for last night."

Tobias smiles and steps out of the walkway. He ushers me in and closes the door. "You can sleep in this," he says, pulling a large T-shirt from one of his drawers out and tossing it to me. I go into the bathroom and slip out of my black clothes and into Tobias' big, white undershirt.

"I'm glad you came," Tobias says as I step out of the bathroom. "I was beginning to worry."

I look down bashfully. My breathing shallows as Tobias takes my arm and pulls me to his bed. Luckily, we are just sitting.

"Explain your fear," he whispers.

I bite my lip. "When I was growing up, no one touched each other. No one had a physical relationship with anyone outside the house."

"My childhood was like that," Tobias says quietly.

"I thought you grew up in Dauntless," I say. But as soon as the words leave my mouth, Tobias shrugs. My eyebrows crinkle in misunderstanding and he swallows a breath. "My father beat me every day. Like in the simulation. Amar found me and rescued me."

"And he brought you here," I finish for him. "Amar...the name sounds familiar. Didn't he do initiate training?"

Tobias nods. "He was out leading a mission."

"Was?" I ask. "Is he back at Dauntless?"

Tobias scratches the back of his neck nervously. "He and I, we never got to say goodbye. He went out on a mission last year and halfway through he sent Max a letter notifying him of his retirement."

"So where is he now?" I ask. Tobias bites his lip and shrugs. "Probably living outside the city. There's a rumor that he's in charge of some bureau."

I raise my eyebrows but Tobias just shrugs. "You tired?" he asks. I shake my head and Tobias looks directly into my eyes. He lifts my chin up with his finger and I gasp quickly. Tobias winces and grabs my hand. "Does my touch scare you?" he asks, suddenly frightened.

I shake my head and scoot closer. Tobias pulls me onto his lap and rakes a finger through my hair and wraps it around his hair. "Beautiful," he whispers. "You are so, so beautiful." I blush furiously and entangle my fingers in Tobias' hair. I pull my lips up to his and he smiles quickly before wrapping his fingers around my neck and pulling me even closer.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**I DON'T OWN DIVERGENT...****But I wish I did...****I don't own TFIOS either but try**** and find the quote from it!**

**Also: I really would like you guys to check out some of my other Divergent stories and giving me feedback on them so I know where to go with them (: **

**How's your summer going? I'm doing marching band for my high school and boy is it tiring!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Tris POV:**

I smile slightly and giggle. "What are you talking about?"

"You're in love," Christina insists. "You heard me the first time Tris."

I shake my head and sip the coffee in my hand. "Maybe I'm just happy we get two days off from training."

But Christina only narrows her eyes at me. "Somehow, I don't buy that." Then she promptly takes a bite of her muffin and chews it eagerly.

"You're right," I finally admit, with a small smile permanently implanted on my face. I pick at the scrambled eggs in front of me and sigh. "How do you think you did in training?" I ask, referring to the results of the second step of training that will be posted later this morning.

Christina shrugs. "Alright I guess," she says. "Maybe ninth or so." I nod and she gulps down a swig of her black coffee. "Four told everyone you were really good yesterday after you left."

"He what?" I ask. But Christina just nods. "You're a natural," she smiles. "What's your secret?"

I shrug. "Nothing really." But Christina just rolls her eyes. "Like I believe that," she says. But I just shake my head once more. "Seriously, I just dislike my fears so much I want to get out of the simulations."

"Uh huh," she says. "What's your biggest fear?"

I bite my lip. But Christina just looks at her muffin intensely. "Mine's moths," she says, quieter than usual. I try to hold myself from guffawing. "Really?"

"Yeah," she says. "They're just...ew." I giggle. "Promise you won't tell anyone about mine?"

She nods. "Pinky-swear on my life."

"Okay then," I say, with a slight, bouncy laugh in my voice. "Intimacy..."

"Like sex?"

I put a finger to my lips and whack Christina's arm. "Hush," I say. But Christina just smirks. "Mmmm, interesting."

"Oh, please," I say. "It's more frightening than moths."

"Not to me!" she squeals. "Will and I are...becoming more intimate while moths are small and attracted to light and ew!"

I smirk and suppress a laugh as Christina whack's my arm this time. She laughs as I pick up my tray and stand up.

"Hey!" she calls back.

I turn around, my cheeks getting hot. "Don't make me late. I'm off to see, erm, Max."

Christina winks. I roll my eyes. "Come on," she says, shooting a grin my way. "I know you're off to see Four."

* * *

><p>"Are you nervous?" Tobias asks. He caresses my shoulders lovingly and kisses the top of my head twice. "Don't be," he whispers. "You've done fine."<p>

"What if I've done more than just fine?" I ask. "What if they suspect me?"

"They won't," Tobias reassures me. "Besides. everyone here loves you." He draws small circles on my shoulders with his thumbs and tosses me my sweater.

He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off with a blurt, "What if Eric finds out? Or Max?"

Tobias takes my hand. "As much as I do not like Eric, he and Max will protect you no matter what. Now, you ready?"

I nod and he squeezes my hand once before grabbing his keys.

When we get to the training room, I see once again that everyone is separated into their little groups. I walk up to Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene, as Christina and Will look like they don't want to be disturbed. And either way, I don't feel like being a third wheel.

"Hey," Uriah says. "What's up?" I shrug and point to the lights above and Marlene giggles. "Nice one, Tris."

Then Eric starts blabbering about how we all sucked at the second stage and Tobias rolls his eyes and flips over the chalkboard.

Uriah is at the top, and I am second. Two people I haven't really payed attention to are told that they need to leave, as they have no potential and I suddenly feel guilty.

"Hey," Lynn says. She touches my shoulder gently and I jump up. "Sorry," I stammer. "Didn't see you there."

"What's wrong?" she asks. "You should be happy you got first. Congratulations."

I shrug. "I'm guaranteed a spot in Dauntless, while others are forced to leave."

"Cheer up," she says. She punches my arm playfully and looks at me. "You'll deserve it if you do good in training." Lynn laughs slightly. She's not usually this bubbly, but I guess she's just in a good mood. "And so far, you've been doing that."

"Thanks," I say, wrapping my arm around her.

Then Uriah comes up, dragged by Marlene. "Come on you two," she says happily. "We gotta go celebrate."

Lynn's smile twitches and for a minute, I see jealousy flash over her eyes but when I raise my eyebrows at her, she just clears her throat and smiles at me. "Come on," she repeats. "We gotta go celebrate."

"Congratulations," I tell Will and Christina when we get to the Pit. Christina smiles and twists a ring on her middle finger around. "Is that new?" I ask.

She grins and nods. "Will gave it to me a few minutes ago." Christina giggles and I smile. "What?" she asks.

"You're in lo-ove," I sing.

Later, I excuse myself and walk to Tobias' apartment. I knock lightly and he greets me with a smile. Tobias pulls me in warmly with his arms, almost like we're dancing. "Hey," he says. "I've missed you."

"And I you," I respond quietly. "Hey," he says. "What's wrong?"

I shrug, but start to hyperventilate. "It's just that all of us initiates are so, so close to being Dauntless members that we can almost taste it, and I miss my parents and-"

"Hey, hey," Tobias says gently. "It's gonna be alright. Besides, you have family here as well."

"I really want to see Max as my mother's father...but I just can't. I haven't known him for sixteen years."

"But you'll know him for sixteen more," Tobias says gently. "And he's all you got left."

"Oh, Tobias," I whisper. I wrap my arms around him. "We've got each other." Neither one of us says anything for a moment; we just stay in that same position, his arms wrapped around me and mine around him. "Can I spend the night?" I ask, breaking the silence that has pulled us together. "I'd hate to leave."

"And I'd hate for you to leave," Tobias says. He kisses my cheek lightly, and when he pulls away and steps into the bathroom, I touch my fingers to my cheek, still feeling his lips there. Am I crazy? Or am I in love like Christina said?

Then Tobias walks out and goes over to his drawers. He tosses a shirt at me and goes back in the bathroom. I turn around and put the shirt on.

"What's wrong?" Tobias asks, walking back out of the bathroom. "Why are you crying?" I

hadn't noticed I was crying, until I touch my fingertips up to my cheek and swallow. "Nothing," I mutter. "It's really nothing." But Tobias raises his eyebrows, and I know he won't let this one go. I laugh ignorantly. "It's stupid...my dad, he just always used to give me his old shirts to sleep in during the summer. Every summer we would decorate them, and he told me that they were mine instead of his." A dry laugh escapes my mouth again. "It's stupid. Forget I said it."

"No," Tobias says. He steps towards me and slips his hands in mine. "It's not stupid." He pauses and looks to the ground. "I lived in constant fear my entire childhood, and when I came here, I was treated as a member, as an adult."

I pull Tobias down to the bed and sit as close as I can to him. "But what about your mother?"

Tobias plays with my fingers for a minute before resting his head on top of mine. "She ran away," he whispers. "My father said she had an affair, but knowing her...she just wouldn't do it."

I wrap my arms around Tobias and we stay like that for a minute before I smirk. "Looks like I'm not the only one with family problems." I can feel him smile and a small laugh escapes my mouth. Tobias turns his head and grins at me before rolling into laughter.

* * *

><p>We fall asleep in each other's arms a while later. I wake up entangled in Tobias, his arms wrapped around my waist and his head snuggled deep into my chest.<p>

I stir slightly to slip out of Tobias' grasp and dash into the bathroom.

I turn the slight on, shut the door, and splash water on my face and take a look at my reflection in the mirror. I've become to develop as a woman these past few weeks: my pale skin has begun to darken slightly and my breasts have began to fill out. I rustle my hair slightly and let the waves hang down. For the first time in months, I am not self-conscious. I take a deep breath, and when I exit the bathroom, Tobias is up.

He sits up in the bed and my breath is taken away. Everytime I see him is like seeing him for the first time. Tobias looks at me with wide bright blue eyes. "What's the matter?" he asks.

"Had to use the bathroom," I respond dismissively, shutting the light off.

Tobias looks at me. "Something else is on your mind. I can tell."

I shake my head as I slip into the covers. The bathroom light was the only one lighting the room, but I can sense Tobias' brow crease with worry even in the darkness. I shut my eyes. "How long are we going to keep this a secret?" I ask after an infinite time of silence.

I hear the sheets ruffle and Tobias turn to me. He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. "Tris, now is not the time."

"When are we going to tell everyone?" I demand. "Christina knows and the truth may as well come out."

I can hear Tobias' breathing. His heart beats as fast as a hummingbird, yet I can tell it is out of stress. "When the time is ready," he murmurs gently.

I don't respond. I can't stand the pressure of Eric and Max and Tobias all on me at once, and I shut my eyes to fall asleep, not caring to turn to Tobias and tell him I love him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN Hey guys I know you all are busy and have lives and if you aren't, you should go be social and get away from your computer (: I'm not that person that's always complaining but I didn't get many reviews last chapter and I have no idea where to take this story! I'll update at 160 reviews (:**

**Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US reading this! Twenty-five people are coming to my house later today and we're going to eat food and have a blast! What are you guys doing?**

**- Lola =)**


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